Love and War
by Queen of Shadows
Summary: Scott and Shelby have trouble when a new girl comes to Horizon who falls for Scott. Then, things get even worse when a new guy at Horizon falls for Shelby in a dangerous way. Please R&R. FINISHED
1. All is Fair in Love and War

Chapter 1: All is Fair in Love and War

Wearing blue jeans and a red shirt with her blonde down, Shelby Merrick sat in the girls dorm. A sigh left her lips as she lied down on her back. Juliet giggled as she watched Shelby from across the room. Shelby noticed and shook her head, to herself more than to anyone else, and sat up only to look over to the stick figure 'princess' of Juliet. The 'princess' wore a pair of jeans and a pink tank top with a gray zip up sweatshirt over it. Her long, dark and somewhat wavey hair was up in a tight pont tail to keep it out of Juliet's face.

"What?" Shelby asked,.

A smile was still on Juliet's face as she said, "Your all glowy. I've never seen you like this before."

"Well, princess, don't get use to it."

Daisy entered the dorm from outside just in time to hear the very short conversation between the two girls and semi-rivals. She was wearing beige pants and a long sleeve shirt that had the color of a mix between tan and brown. Her dark brown hair hung over her shoulders completly strait.

"Is Shelby still denying the fact that she's actually happy?" The former Goth girl asked.

Shelby couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"You know what? I'm getting out of here," Shelby said.

Shelby stood up, walked to the door and then out of it. She noticed Scott Barringer and just stopped and stared in mid-walk. Scott was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a white male style wife beater and a red button up shirt over that. Her noticed her as well and they walked over towards eachother and immediately grabbed one anothers hands and entwined them.

Moments after, Daisy and Juliet walked ouut of the girls dorm and then Auggie, Ezra and David walked out of the boys dorm. They're all heading to the same place: group.

* * *

They walked into the lodge and saw Sophie Becker, their counselor, waiting for them. They all sit, as per usual, and waited for group to begin.

Scott and Shelby sat next to eachother, Daisy next to Shelby on the other side, Ezra next to her followed by Juliet, then Auggie and finally David. Once group was about to begin Peter walked in with a girl.

She looked to be about 5'4, 5'5, she was pretty skinny too. Right in between Shelby and Juliet. She had dark brown hair and light brown eyes that looked almost honey colored. She was very pretty. Wearing a pair of tight jeans and a black T-shirt, the darkness of her hair almost blended in with the darkness of the shirt.

"Everyone, this is Rachel Jones. She's new to the Cliffhangers anf I want all of you to be nice to her," Peter said while kinda of zoning in on Shelby with the 'be nice' part.

Shelby always seemed to be the least welcoming of the bunch.

Rachel sat down in a chair a little bit away from the group yet didn't take her honey colored eyes off of the group. She seemed to be eyeing Scott which Shelby noticed and immediately hated. Shelby rolled her blue eyes and grabbed Scott's hand, entiwining hers with his. She was trying to put out the hint that he was taken but Rachel either wasn't getting it or ignored it and continued to eye Scott.

"Well, Rachel, I'm Sophie Becker. Your counselor," Sophie said and sounded pretty welcoming.

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Yippee for you," She repsonded.

Sophie raised her eyes brows to Rachel and shook her head, while smiling.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. I don't know where you're from or who you're use to dealing with but I don't take that. I was trying to be nice but I guess I'll just skip that." Sophie said with great authority.

"You? Nice?" Shelby asked quietly in a teasing manner.

Sophie looked over her shoulder to Shelby and glared.

"Your not helping, Shelby," She said forcefully.

Shelby didn't say anything, just shut up.

Sophie looked back to the other Cliffhangers and shook her head lightly.

"Actually you guys, I think we can skip group today. Give Rachel a chance to get to the place. Anyone willing to show her around?" Sophie asked.

"No," Shelby said under her breath and Sophie heard it.

"Shelby. I think you want to."

Shelby rolled her eyes and looked up at Scott momentarily then at Rachel. She sighed knwing that she didn't really have much of a chouce. She walked over to Rachel and was impatient.

"All right. Lets get this over with," Shelby said, obviously not wanting to do this.

Shelby started to walk away before Rachel even stood but Rachel ended up following her anyway. Shelby showed her all of the places that she needed to know and wasn't nice about it. She already disliked the 'new girl' for checking out Scott.

* * *

Rachel didn't take much notice in Shelby not likeing her.

"Why are you here?" She asked.

"And I should tell you why?" Shelby asked back.

"Don't we talk about those things there?"

Shelby nodded and continued to walk.

"Well, fine. If you don't want to talk about you then how about I ask you a question about someone else?" Rachel asked and didn't want for an answer from Shelby before continuing to talk, "Who was the hottie back in the lodge?"

Shelby chuckled.

"I take it you mean the tall, blonde haired, blue eyed, Boy? He's Scott Barringer and he's taken" Shelby said simply.

"By who?" Rachel asked in response.

Shelby turned around and looked at Rachel.

"That would be me, new girl."

Rachel looked Shelby up and down and shrugged.

"He'll be mine by the end of the week." Rachel said with much confidence.

"Trust me, new girl, he's not so easily won. Besides, he loves me. I doubt he'll leave me for you."

"We'll see. After all, all is fair in love and war"

Rachel grinned and walked away.

Shelby shook her head and walked to find Scott.


	2. Only One Queen B

Chapter 2: Only One Queen B

Shelby had thought going through her head now. Would Scott really leave her for Rachel? She shook her head and thought 'no' but how could she be sure?

Shelby had no luck finding Scott so she ended up just going back to the girls dorm. There she saw Rachel and rolled her eyes. Shelby sat down on her bed and laid down onto her back.

Rachel looked over to Shelby and shook her head. _Scott'll be mine. I know it._ She thought. Rachel stood up and walked out fo the girls dorm leaving Shelby alone with Daisy.

Daisy looked over to Shelby.

"You don't like her either?" Daisy asked.

Shelby sat up and looked over to Daisy.

"How'd you guess? God. I can't stand her! She wants Scott." Shelby said and sounded obviously frustrated.

"Relax, Shelby. He loves you. He'd never leave you for her." Daisy said the word 'her' adressing Rachel with disgust.

Shelby sighed.

"I know I know. It's just...I was her when Scott first came here. He was with Jules but I was persistent and look at us now. The little princess and I don't fight half as often and Scott and i are together. What that happens with Rachel?" Shelby shook her head and continued to speak, "No. You know what? I'm not going to think about it. I'm not going to let it bother me."

Shelby nodded and was determined not to think about Rachel and Scott possibly getting together. Yet, all she could do was just that.

* * *

Scott was sitting on the ground down by the lake. He went there to think sometimes. Silly but true. Rachel spotted him and walked up to him trying to flaunt everything she had but Scott didn't take much notice. He ignored actually.

Rachel wasn't use to being ignored so started a conversation to try and not be.

"Hey. I'm Rachel." She said and smiled.

Scott looked at her.

"I know. Peter said that was your name when we were suppose to have group." He replied.

Rachel chuckled.

"True. Your name's Scott, right?"

Scott nodded.

"Well, Scotty, wanna have some fun?" She asked flirting.

Scott scoffed.

"And what do you mean by 'fun'?" Scott asked.

Rachel ran her hand across Scott's arms then stood up. She took off her shirt, jeans, shoes and socks which left her in nothing but her black bra and panties.

"This kind of fun." She said.

Rachel then dove into the water and smiled back at Scott.

"I have a girlfriend. Her name's Shelby. So you're wasting your time."

Scott looked away from the water and away grom her,

"Yeah, I know. I've met her. But I thought you might like ot move a step up. To me. Come on, Scotty. It'll be our little secret." She smiled for a response.

The response she got was Scott walking away from her and leaving her in the water by herself.

* * *

Scott walked into the kitchen and got his food. He sat at the usual Cliffhanger table but no one was there yet.

Shelby, Daisy, Ezra, Juliet, Auggie and David walked in just moments after. They got their food and sat down at the table with Scott. Shelby sat next to Scott. Juliey and Auggie sat next to eachother and then Daisy was surrounded by David and Ezra on both sides of her. Next to Scott was an empty chair which Katherine use to sit in but ever since she graduated last year, that seat has been empty. Rachel would be the one to sit there now which Shelby really disliked.

They started to eat the disgusting food yet only Juliet complained.

Rachel walked into the kitchen and sat down next to Scott. Her brown hair was still wet and her clothes were damp at the spots where they touched her soaked bra and panties.

"I missed you back there." Rachel said to Scott.

She was trying to flirt with Scott. Partially to piss Shelby off but the other part was because she was actually attracted to him and wanted him to be her own.

"And where would 'back there' be?" Shelby asked.

Rachel looked to Shelby and smiled while saying, "Like I said before, all is fair in loveand war."

Shelby shook her head. She was starting to get really pissed off with Rachel. She was sick of her already and she hasn't even been there a full day yet.

"Look, new girl, I don't know what kind of people you're use to dealing with but you don't treat me like your little rag doll. There is only one Queen B. here and that's me so get your own damn life and stop trying to steal mine! Trust me, I'm better at this than you are!"

Shelby stood up and grabbed her tray. She turned aorund and dumped her garbage into the garbage can and put the tray where it belonged. She walked out of the kitchen leaving the a cold, hard glare locked on Rachel.

* * *

Rachel looked to Scott and smiled. She put her hand on his, "Well, now that she's gone we can have some fun."

Scott pulled his hand away and stood. He walked and didn't even both to deal with his tray. Scott walked out of the kitchen to go find Shelby.

* * *

Rachel looked around at the table. Daisy was trying very hard not to burst into laughter at her being dissed by not on Shelby but Scott too.

Auggie looked to Rachel and shook his head.

Rachel glared at Auggie.

"What?" She asked in a bithcy, yet innocent, way.

"Look. A couple workds of advise: stay out of Scott and Shelbys relationship. They're finally happy. You're not gonna get anywhere with him anyways. He's hooked on that girl" Auggie said.

"Plus. Shelby's not someone you want to be on the bad side of." Ezra added.

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Whatever guys. All's fair in love and war. Scott'll be mine and there's nothing Shelby can do about it." Rachel said

Daisy leaned forward.

"Yes, a very true quote indeed. But I still highly doubt Scott will go for you." Daisy responded.

Juliet smiled.

"Yeah. He's like completly in love with her. He won't go for it, Rachel. But, then again. if Shelby can steal him from me then why can't Rachel steal him from her?" Juliet asked to everyone.

Ezra pointed to Juliet.

"Now. Now. Shelby didn't steal anything. She tried to steal. She didn't get him until after you two broke up 'cause you were love sick for Auggie," Ezra interjected.

Jules glared at Ezra. She wasn't love sick for Auggie when her and Scott were still together. At least, she didn't think she was. Her glare turned into a smile.

Rachel looked around at the table and smiled at Juliet's comment about Shelby taking Scott. Rachel eyed Jules and patted her on the shoulder.

"Ya know what, Princess, you just gave me an idea," Rachel said.

Rachel, without waiting for a comment from anyone, walked out of the kitchen to go find some dirt on Shelby. She was going to need everything she had to be able to beat Shelby.

* * *

The group was still sitting at the table as David looked to Juliet.

"I thought only Shelby called you 'princess' or 'queenie'." He said curiously, raising his eyebrows with a smirk on his face.

The table was silent for the rest of the meal. They were all thinking about the whole Rachel, Shelby and Scott situation. It was no suuprise that the new girl wanted Scott but going as far as using the same nick names for the same people that Shelby did was getting kind of weird.


	3. Exposed

**A/N** - I know I have grammar and spelling issues and I hope I can be forgiven for those. I would like to thank everyone for supporting me through this story, it has helped a lot. Also, for this chapter I would like to warn everyone that this has **very** harsh language. Again, thank you everyone. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 3: Exposed

Shelby went into the girls dorm and laid down onto her bed. She sat in silence until she heard the door creek open and a voice come from around the corner.

"Shelb?" Scott asked.

He walked around the corner and saw her. Scott took off his red button up shirt and threw it on Daisy's bed then he walked over to Shelby and sat down on her bed next to her. Shelby turned over and looked at him. She smiled seeing him.

Without saying anything she sat up and pulled Scott into a kiss. The kiss started out sweet and soft but as it continued it grew more intense. The couple lied down on Shelby's bed with Scott on top of Shelby. They didn't take their mouths off one anothers. Shelby moved her hands to Scott's waist and grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up over his head. One the shirt was off their mouths met again as they continued to kiss. They rolled over so now Scott was on the bottm and Shelby on top. Scotts hands were lighting rubbing Shelbys back as the kis continued and became stronger. Their tongues rubbing againt one another; exploring eachothers mouths.

* * *

Rachel met up with a student who had been at Horizon for a while. His name was Mike and he told Rachel basically everything she wanted to hear. Mike ended up telling Rachel all about Shelbys twisted history, her running away and having to prostitute herself mostly since that's where all the dirt was.

Rachel grinned and kissed Mike's lips just to give him a little something for information on Shelby.

Rachel walked away still smiling on her way to the girls dorn in order to give Shelby a bunch of crap about her past. _This is gonna be fun,_ she thought as she walked and grinned.

* * *

Scott and Shelby were still kissing only they rolled once again. Shelby was back on the bottom and Scott on top. He was moving his hand up her shirt but they were interrupted by Rachel walking in.

Rachel looked at the couple on te bed and just stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. Then, she finally realized how to use this to her advantage.

Rachel smiled.

"Scott you should be careful when it comes to sleeping with her. You never know what she might have cought when she sold herself on the streets," Rachel commented.

Shelby moved out from under Scott and stood up looking at Radchel. She glared to her not saying anything but she formed a fist with her hand. She wanted so hard to hit her but resisted the urge to. Shelby took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her cold, blue eyes still glaring at Rachel, she loosened her hand.

Rachel smiled.

"That's right. I know all about your little past," Rachel said to Shelby.

Rachel looked over to Scott and scoffed.

"If skanks are what your like then you should've just told me," Rachel said teasing.

Looking back to Shelby she smirked and turned around. Shelby had enough. She walked over close to Rachel and pushed her to the floor and smiled.

"Awe. I'm sorry. I guess I just don't like posers. You think don't know about your past? I was raped by my step dad. I wasn't the one who fucked mommys boyfriend 'cause I wanted to. I'm not the one who fucked anyone who wanted me for drugs. I'm not the one who let guys fuck six ways to Sunday for no reason. That's you. Now tell, Rachel, how am I the slut?" Shelby spoke and sounded very bitchy but that's what she was going for so she was pleased with herself.

Shelby stood there with her arms crossed over her chest and Rachel slowly rose from the floor. With tears in her eyes, Rachel looked to Shelby.

"How did you find that out?" Rachel aske,d

"You're not the only one who knows how to find out about peoples past, Rachel. I went into Peters office earlier and read your file"

"I never admitted to any of that"

"Mommy dearest filled out your file, new girl"

Scott stood up and walked behind Shelby. He still wore no shirt as he put his arm around Shelby's waist. Shelby uncrossed her arms and moved her hand to meet Scotts on her side and looked to Rachel.

"Now I suggest that you stop trying to be me while you're here. Your life will be a lot easier here if you do. Besides, you think you have dirt on me? No. No. No, sweety. I have nothing to hide. I'm the one who has the dirt on you." Shelby said to Rachel.

"Screw you, Shelby! I'll be whoever the hell I want to be. Anyone but me."

Rachel said the last part softly so almost no one could hear unless the were listening very closely. Neither of them were. A tear fell down her cheek as she looked away. Wiping the tear off her face, she ran out of the room.

"Well, that was interesting," Shelby said to and looked to Scott smiling.

* * *

Rachel walked out of the girls dorm and down onto the docks. For someone not being there that long she certainly knew her way around quickly. It was already hard. Her first night at her Horizon.

She sighed and thought what Shelby had said to her. How did she know all of that? Rachel shook her and tried to clear it but failed. Did she even really want Scott? Was she really trying to be like Shelby? And if so...why?

Rachel never really liked her life. She didn't enjoy being a slut and sleeping around with all those men but she did it becuase they made her feel. When she was with them, she felt needed. Like the guys actually needed her. But they didn't. They just needed her body. Rachel deep down knew that but admitted it to herself.

And the drugs. Well, they helped with the pain momentarily. Obviously, it didn;t send the pain away but for moments, when she couldn't feel herself in her own body, being herself, she was happy.

The sitting here and pondering about her life back home and here wasted nearly and hour of Rachels time and she hear someone screaming 'lights out!' So she stood up and walked back to the the dorm. She was shivering becuase since she was still wearing the wet clothes, to her it was freezing outside,

Rachel walked in and saw Shelby, Daisy and Juliet getting ready for bed. She noticed the other girls but only really cared about Shelby. After all, she's the only one who knows about her past. As far as she knows, at leat.

Rachel felt so utterly and completly exposed.


	4. The Quest

Chapter 4: The Quest

The next morning after everyone work and showered they were all back in the kitchen. They all grabbed their trays of food as usual and sat in the same seats as always. It was like a routine. Only Rachel seemed to have been out of tune with it. But, then again, for only her second day being there she was doing pretty well.

Scott kept his eyes on Shelby almost the entire meal except when his blue eyes galnced towards Rachel. He would always look back to Shelby after only seconds of watching Rachel. He wasn't attracted to her. It was nothing like that. He was worried about her. If everything Shelby had said before was true, then Rachel had a pretty bad life. Scott shook his head and tried not to think about it.

Just then Peter and Sophie walked up behind Shelby and Peter put his hands on Shelbys shoulders. "Cliffhangers?" Peter asked waiting to get the attention of all of them.

They all looked to Peter and Shelby rolled her eyes up since he was behind her. She then gave up on trying to look at him and just listened.

"All right. You guys are going on a 3 day 2 night quest in the woods. We're leaving this afternoon. So once you're all done easting, go get packed and ready," Peter said.

"And may we inquire as to what this 'quest' will be about?" Daisy asked.

"Well, that's really up to you guys. actually. Sophie and I will plis you guys into two groups and then it's up to you guys to figure out what to do over the 3 days. But you guys can't just do nothing. I want a 700 word paper on what each of you did while you were out there on my desk the second day after you guys get back."

"Peter, did I ever mention how I much I love you?" Shelby asked sarcasticly.

Peter smiled and walked away with Sophie so the Cliffhangers could finish eating and then go pack.

* * *

Everyone packed and they met outside by the benches. 

"All right. Sophie and I have decided who will be in which group and who will be leading both of them. Scott, Rachel, Juliet and Ezra in group one being led by Scott. Shelby, David, Daisy and Auggie in the other being led by Auggie. Everyone understand?" Peter said.

He always tried to split the couples up as best as possible and usually managed to do it just right.

Shelby looked over to Rachel and saw her smiling at the fact that she was going to be in the woods with Scott, without her, for 3 whole days. Shelby wanted to badley to say something but ended up literally biting her tongue to keep herself quiet.

Shelby and Scott walked up the mountain together next to each other. Scott looked down to Shelby and saw that she was obviously mad about him and Rachel being in the same group.

"Shelb, you don't have to worry. I'm not gonna do anything with Rachel. Relax." Scott said sweetly to her.

"Relax? I can't relax right now, Scott. Don't you see that Rachel is doing the exact same thing now that I did before when you where with Juliet? And look what happened? You and I are together now. What fi the same thing happens only this time, I'm the one getting screwed over?" Shelby responded hotly with a tint of pain.

Scott leaned down and kissed Shelby breifly on the lips.

"It's not gonna happen, Shelby. I love you." Scott said.

Shelby couldn't help but smile at Scott. "I love you, too" She repsonded.

Rachel saw from just a little bit behind Shelby and Scott that they kissed and she glared at Shelby. She thought to herself, _He's going to be mine, These next three days will give me plenty of time to get him. Shelby won't be there to claim her territory. _Then a smile leaked on to her face while thinking about it.

* * *

The whole group walked until they reached the brdige by the river. Sophie turned around towards the group and eyed everyone. 

"All right. Scott's group, you guys will be going with Peter to the other side of the bridge. Auggies group, you will stay on this side of the bridge with me. Everyone understand?" Sophie said and saw a lot of head nod.

Sophie looked to Peter and smiled. He started to walk across the bridge and motioned Scotts group to follow. They did and on the way of Rachel passing Shelby she wouldn't resist making a comment.

"The next three days will be fun," Rachel said into Shelbys ear.

Shelby closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind.

* * *

**A/N** - Every time there's one of those lines that means that it's skipping time by minutes or hours or that it's skipping from one setting to another. I'm going to go back and do that to all the previous chapters too so it'll all be the same. In case anyone was getting confused. Since me putting a dash is no longer showing up, I'm stuck doing that. I know this is kind of a short chapter but I'll update soon. And let me tell, then you guys will really hate Rachel. 


	5. The Mistake

**A/N**- Well since people have been begging me to update my next chapter and I feel nice, here it is. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 5: The Mistake

The first night of them camping out Scott was down by the river. Everyone on that side of the river was asleep except him. Or, at least, that's what he though.

Rachel walked up behind him and sat next to him. She wore black and red plaid pajama pants and a black tank top. She really liked the color black. And the tank top she was wearing showed some of her cleavage. Not a lot. Just enough to tease Scott.

"Hey, Scotty." She said to him with a smile now on her face.

Scott looked over to Rachel and shook his head.

"You're worse than Shelby was when I was with Jules. Give it up, Rach." He replied

"That may be true but I bet I can make this more fun thn Shelby did."

Just then Rachel stood up and maneuvered herself on top of Scott. She wrapped her legs around his waist and put her arms around his neck. He looked to her somewhat disgusted.

"Get off of me!" Scott ordered but she didn't listen.

"Shh, Scotty. It'll be our little secret" Rachel leaned over and whispered in his ear.

* * *

Shelby couldn't sleep. She was tossing and turning all night. She finally got out ofher tent and checked to make sure Sophie was sleep. Once she saw that she was, Shelby slipped on her slippers and snuck across the bridge over to the other side. 

Shelby looked around trying to find Scott. She knew that he hadn't went to sleep yet. She thought for a moment about where he would since he couldn't go to the docks like he normally did and came to the conclusion that he would go near the water.

She walked slowly down to the side of the river and before she even got all the way there, she saw Rachel and Scott kissing with Rachel on top of him.

Tears swelled in her eyes but she fought them back; not allowing them to fall. She closed her eyes and if trying to wake up from some sort of nightmare. But it wasn't a nightmare. It was real and Scott was really kissing Rachel right before her eyes.

Shelby couldn't stand this any longer. She ran away, which was something she happened to be very good at. She ran across the bridge and back into her tent.

* * *

Scott pushed Rachel off of him. 

"Maybe I didn't make this clear enough for you before. I have a girlfriend. Her name is Shelby and I love her so just give it up." Scott said rudely to Rachel.

"Shelby is a little slut. I mean, honestly, do you really wanna be with someone who sold herself on the streets?" Rachel asked.

Scott glared.

"At least she did it 'cause she had to. From what I know about you, you have no room to talk about being people skanks."

Scott stood up and left. He walked back into his tent once again leaving Rachel sitting in the cold.

* * *

Once Shelby was back in her tent she just feel to the ground and burst into tears. She was also much warmer now. Her navy blue pajama pants and blue T-shirt didn't keep her very warm. 

Shelby was sharing the tent with Daisy and her sobs woke Daisy up.

"What's wrong?" Daisy asked obviously concerned yet still very tired.

Shelby looked over to Daisy. Her face was red and soaked from crying.

"I just walked in on Scott kissing Rachel. He was kissing her!" Shelby nearly screamed the words but managed to keep them at a normal volume.

Daisy, at first, didn't believe it. She knew how much Scott loved Shelby. But she could tell by the look on Shelby's face that it was true and she shook her head.

"What ill-favored karma a good soul must weather," Daisy said.

"What are you talking about, Daisy?" Shelby asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just forget about it."

Shelby nodded and laid her head down onto her pillow. Daisy covered Shelby with the sleeping back and left Shelby alone.

Shelby ended up crying for the majority of the night until she finally cried herself to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Shelby woke up later than everyone else because she was up all night crying. She still had thoughts and images going through her head about Scott and Rachel. She dressed into a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt and brushed out her blonde hair. She tried to get the thoughts out of her head but couldn't. 

Shelby went over by Daisy, who was wearing a pair of black pants a blue shirt, and pulled her aside.

"Um, Daisy,do you think you can not tell anyone what I saw last night? Not even Scott. Please" Shelby asked her.

"Yeah. No problem. However long you want." Daisy responded.

"Thanks. I'm just not ready for all that drama yet."

"No, it's okay. Your secret's safe with me."

Daisy pulled Shelby into a hug. She tried to comfort her but didn't know how to. Daisy was just going to have to be there for her.

* * *

Scott woke up and want so badley to walk across the bridge and see Shelby but knew he wasn't allowed to. Trying to get his mind of his girl friend he got dressed into a pair of beige pants and a while male style wife beater with a blue button up shirt over that. 

Rachel came up behind Scott wearing black pants and a red tank top and touched his arm lightly.

"Last night was fum," She said.

"Last night was a mistake that's never going to leak out!" Scott replied forcefully.

"All right. All right. Jeez, Scotty, you're too tense."

"Don't call me Scotty!"

"Fine, Scott. But you really are too tense. You don't have to worry your little angel finding out. You pushed me away. Do you really think I'm going to rub that into her?"

"Well, you could just said that I didn't push you away."

"No. You see when I rub something in, I do it with the truth. I may be somewhat of a slut but I'm not a liar."

"Fine. Just stay quiet."

"I already told you I would. Relax, Scotty. I mean Scott"

Scott didn't say anything. He just walked away. He shook his head and hoped with all his heart that Rachel would stay quiet. He didn't want to loose Shelby over a stupid mistake that lasted for only a couple of seconds.


	6. Counsel

**A/N**- I know this is a short chapter. But this one is going to have to be short. My next one's going to be even shorter but after that, I'll get longer ones going again. I promise.

Also, to the person who is accusing my of stealing this story: please stop. I didn't steal the story. I didn't even read the other story you're talking about until you pointed it out. That story was written years ago anyways. To be honest,I got the idea for this story from a personal situation I was in. I see that the two stories have many similarities but I didn't mean for my story to be a copy of that one.

* * *

Chapter 6: Counsel 

Scott looked over across the bridge when Peter came up behind him Peter has on a pair of blue jeans and a black T-shirt that looked like it was too small for him with how form fitting it was but it really wasn't.

"Thinking about something?" Peter asked even though he knew the answer was 'yes'

"Yeah," Scott replied.

"only one more day, Scott. Then you can see her again.

Peter knew Scott and Shelby were together and he didn't mind. As long as Scott didn't get her pregnant, or they they broke the rules he was completly okay with it. Peter thought that they were could for eachother; they helped eachother heal. Scott knew that Peter was okay with him being with Shelby so all he did was smile at Peters comment.

* * *

Shelby looked down at the water. She sat there starring at it by herself. She picked up a rock that was near her and threw into the water. She hoped it would help but it didn't. Nothing helped. Shelby crossed her arms and continued to sit and stare at the water. 

Just then, Sophie came up behind her. Sophie had on a simple pair of blue jeans and a very pale blue T-shirt.

"Did something happen last night when you snuck across the bridge?" Sophie asked.

Shelby looked up at Sophie startles.

"I didn't know you knew about that." Shelby repsonded.

Sophie nodded.

"I knew," She said.

"Well, yeah, somethinh did happen."

Sophie sat down next to Shelby and looked over to the youth.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sophie asked.

"Nooffence to you and all Sophie but no. Thanks though." Shelby responded.

"That's okay. You don't have to tell me. If it comes to the point where you're hurting yourself or others, then you will have to tell me but right now, you don't. I think your pretty capable of dealing with things by yourself."

Shelby didn't say anything. Just nodded.

"Well, I'll leave you alone right now then. Just remember: only one more day until you get to see him again," Sophie said adreesing Scott when saying 'him'

"I don't want to see him," Shelby said very softly.

Sophie took notice of it but didn't continue the conversation. If it was a relationship problem between Scott and Shelby then they had to work it out themselves. There was nothing Sophie could do to help them.

Sophie walked away and let Shelby be alone.


	7. Empty

Chapter 7: Empty

The days went by fast. It was the nights that seemed like they took forever. Again, Shelby couldn't sleep so naturally Daisy couldn't either. She looked over to her and tried to help but didn't really know how.

"No offence, Shelby, but are you sure that you saw Rachel and Scott kissing?" She asked.

"Yes. They were down by the river and she was on his lap. They were kissing," Shelby responded hotly.

Shelby didn't really feel like getting two different sides of the sotry. She saw them kissing. To her, there wasn't another side of the story. Scott cheated on her after assured her that he wouldn't. He lied to her.

A tear feel down Shelbys cheek. Daisy shook her head.

"Boys." Daisy said with disgust.

"They have no idea how much they hurt us." Shelby finished for her.

Shelby rolled over and tried to sleep but couldn't. She ended up, once again, tossing and turning all night which didn't give Daisy a good nigh of sleep either.

* * *

The final day there Shelby was silent. She didn't talk to anyone, not even Diasy. She dressed into a pair of black pants and a blue T-shirt in selence. No one knew but Shelby and Diasy what Shelby had seen.

Scott didn't know that Shelby had witnessed the kiss no naturally when they saw eachother for the walk back to Horizon, Scott went in for an embrace with Shelby. Shelby gave no response. She stood there and let Scott hug her but didn't hug him back.

She was empty.

* * *

**A/N**- I know this is a very short chapter but I just felt like this chaper should end here. I'll update as soon as I get the next chapter done though.


	8. Better at Show than Tell

Chapter 8: Better at Show than Tell

Shelby seemed almost devoid of emotion except when she would glare at Rachel and show anger. She was no longer happy like she was at the beginning of the year, before Rachel.

Shelby would talk tot Scott but still wasn't her usual self and Scott picked up on it. After all, how couldn't he? Scott tried to touch her hand at dinner one night when Shelby jerked it away. She didn't look up at him and make eye contact but she knew he was glaring at her for it.

"What's up with you, huh?" Scott asked partially out of anger and partially out of concern.

Shelby looked up at him but didn't respond. She looked around the table and saw every single Cliffhanger looking at her. Even Rachel and Daisy.

"I just want to be left alone, okay?" Shelby spoke to the whole table then turned her stare to Scott, "Especially by you."

Shelby glanced at Daisy then stood up and left to go down by the docks.

Shelby couldn't pretend to be nice to Scott anymore. She played the little act since they got back but she just couldn't anymore. She still didn't understand how Scott could be so cruel as to tell her he wouldn't do anything with Rachel, do something, and then pretend nothing happened. Scott never mentioned anything to Shelby. And Shelby figured, that if he really didn't want to do it or if he felt guilty about it, he would've said something to her. But he didn't.

* * *

Scott glared at Rachel thinking that she had told Shelby. He looked around at everyone at the table who were all staring at him except Daisy who happened to be the only one who knew what was going on so ignored all the drama and went back to pokin at her chicken.

"Show's over" Scott said to everyone in a cold voice.

"Well I'm going to go now. Off to bed. Bye everyone." Rachel said with a warm, and innocent, smile on her face.

She stood up and put her tray where it belonged then went to the girls dorm like she said she would. Rachel expected to see Shelby there but didn't. She shrugged her shoulders and really didn't care.

Rachel lied down on her bed and heard someone come in to the door so she sat up. Rachels honey colored eyes looked at Scott. She opened her mouth to say something to him but before she could she was cut off by Scotts words.

"You told her, didn't you? You told her and now she hates me. I pushed you away and she still hates me. Wait. No. You're so much of a skank you probably told her that I kissed you back. Is that what you said? Huh!" Scott was talking with so much anger in his voice.

Rachel stood up but still had to role her eyes up to meet Scotts.

"Look, I didn't say anything! Shelby and I haven't spoken a word to each other since before we left for the quest. How do you know she didn't find out from someone else?" Rachel responded with force.

"We were the only ones there!"

"So. Someone else could've seen, Scott!"

"Don't try blaming someone else. It was you. It had to've been you!"

Without either of them knowing it, Shelby came into the girls dorm and heard the exchange of words between Rachel and Scott.

"She didn't tell me, Scott" Shelby said softly so Scott almost didn't hear her.

Scott turned around at the sound of Shelbys voice and a tear fell down his cheek.

"Shelby." Scott breated and moved in to touch her but she back away.

"She didn't tell me," Shelby continued "I saw it myself. I saw you kiss her while she was in your lap. I snuck across the bridge that to go and see you 'cause I couldn't sleep and I saw you."

Shelbys eyes were swelling with tears but she was fighting like hell for them not to fall.

"Shelby, I didn't kiss her back. She kissed me, yeah, but I didn't kiss her back." Scott responded.

"Bullshit, Scott. I saw you with my own eyes!" Shelby shot back hotly.

"Well, then, apparently you didn't stick around for too long 'cause I pushed her off! If you would've asked me instead of just being a bitch about it you might know that!"

"What was I suppose to say! 'Gee I saw you kiss Rachel and I just wanted to know how far you went with the cheating on me.'? 'Cause that would've worked out so well!" Shelby nearly screamed the last part of that. "By the way, thanks for saying I was a bitch." Shelby finished softly.

Scott closed his eyes and realized that he made a big mistake when he said Shelby was being a bitch.

"Look. I'm sorry, all right?" Scott began, "I didn't mean it like that."

Shelby scoffed.

"I'm serious! But I did push her off. God! Ask her yourself if you want to." Scott finished.

Shelby didn't say anything. She looked to Rachel and raised her eyebrows in a questioning manner.

Rachel roled her eyes really not wanting to admit this. "Yes, he pushed me off. Then he said how much he loved you and left. Happy?" Rachel talked like she wasn't feeling anything but tired.

Shelby shook her head and closed her eyes. A tear feel from each eye once she closed them and she stood there silent. What could she say? Nothing. There was nothing for her to say, She jumped to conclusions and nearly lost the only guy who has ever loved her in the process. _I've always been better at show than tell_ Shelby though with a smile slowly creeping on to her face.

Shelby looked up at Scott but still didn't speak. She took 3 large steps over to him and closed the gap there was between them. Shelby raised her head up towards Scotts and kissed his soft lips.

Shelby let her mouth do the talking as she bid herself entrance into his mouth between his lips and teeth. With her tongue massaging his, she wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her back.

Rachel cleared her throat loudly to remind Scott and Shelby that she was still standing right there.

The couples mouths finally separated and Shelby looked over to Rachel.

"You're welcome to leave." Shelby said and then went back to kissing Scott.

* * *

Rachel took Shelbys advise and walked out of the dorm only to meet Auggie, Daisy, Juliet, Ezra and David. The girls were about to walk into the dorm but Rachel put her arm up to stop them and shook her head.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you. I don't know what you'd be walking in on" Rachel said with a grin dancing across her lips.

"So our very own 'Romeo and Juliet' made up then?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah and I left as they were getting into some major tongue action. I don't know what they're doing now."

"You don't want to know either." Auggie added, also grinning.

Everyone chuckles and walked away from the dorm.

Rachel walked with the group surprisingly happy for Scott and Shelby and finally feeling like she fit in with the Cliffhangers.


	9. A New Student and a Dangerous Lust

Chapter 9: A New Student and a Dangerous Lust

Everyone was is group- another wonderful day of group. Or not. Scott and Shelby were good again but there was still little issues in the Cliffhanger group. Even though Rachel basically let Scott and Shelby get back to their lives, she still didn't exactly like Shelby. So naturally, there was fights between the two.

"Okay, group today is going to be short and simple since Peters coming in here in about..." Sophie trailed off as she looked at her watch really quick and then went back to talking, "5 minutes. So keep it short. Topic is: I feel. Scott, why don't you start us off."

Scott gave a look that said he obviously didn't want to but would anyways.

"I feel good." He said, "Shelby?"

Shelby shrugged a little and said, "I feel fine, just a little tired. Daisy?"

"I feel worried." Daisy said simply.

"Care to elaborate on that one, Daisy?" Sophie asked.

"No," Daisy said, "I don't. David?"

"I feel like I want this over with. Ezra?" David said and he sounded like the words were real.

"I feel hungry. Juliet?" Ezra said.

"I feel like I can float right now. I'm happy. Auggie?" Juliet said.

Before Auggie could answer, Ezra made a comment and said, "You and your floating." Everyone chuckled besides Shelby, Rachel and David for none of them were there for the little joke. David and Rachel hadn't come to Horizon yet and that was when Shelby was stuck home with her mom, little sister and jerk of a step-dad.

"I feel good." Auggie finally said after the laughter subsided.

"Okay that's it. Now we just have to wait for Peter to come and talk to you all." Sophie said and turned around at the sound of Peter walking towards them.

"Well, speak of the Devil." Daisy commented.

Peter smiled but he wasn't alone. There was a guy with him. He had light brown hair and hazel eyes. He stood about 5'11 so he was just under Scotts height and he was pretty well built.

"Everyone, this is Mike Thomson. He's new to your group and I want this newcomer will be treated better than the last one so be nice." Peter said and not only narrowed his eyes to Shelby but also to Scott and Rachel.

Juliet giggled. "Oh. I love newbies."

Mike grinned at what Juliet had said but I don't think anyone understood why until he said, "Well, then I guess I'll have to stay a newbie for a while."

Juliet gave Mike a look that clearly said 'no way in hell, buddy' and she put her hand on Auggies who took it willingly.

Mike scoffed and turned around to see Rachel and Shelby sitting next to each other. They weren't sitting next to each other by choice but they had to so they just shut up and excepted for they didn't want to be on kitchens for arguing.

Mike turned to Shelby and smiled. He scanned Shelby up and down as if he was checking her out which he was and he was liking was he was seeing.

"Hey." Mike said to Shelby with a grin dancing on his face.

Shelby didn't take much notice of him before he spoke to her but she turned her head and gave a fake smile. "Hi." Shelby said and then turned away.

"Oh. You're hurting my pride, baby. Turning away like that is not nice." Mike voice sounded in between of joking and seriousness.

Shelby looked back to him again and raised her eyebrows.

"OK. First off, don't call me 'baby' I have a name. It's Shelby. Secondly, if you're looking for someone to sleep with, you'd be better off trying her." Shelby said and pointed to Rachel.

Mike didn't like being said no to and one could tell by the look in his eyes. A look of determination and anger. He wanted Shelby and he was going to get her whether she wanted it for not.

"OK, you guys. Group is over. Lights out in 20 minutes." Peter said and basically released them.

Everyone stood up and Shelby and Scott walked outside to the janitor shed. It was one of their secret places that they could go to to be alone.

* * *

Scott closed the door and turned around to Shelby.

"What was with that new guy hitting on you?" Scott asked with a hint of jealousy showing in his voice.

"I don't know. I swear, we can never be happy. First we get a newbie who's after you and now we have one who's after me." Shelby said with a grin.

"Well I can see why he would be after you." Scott said and smiled sweetly.

Scott walked over to Shelby and pulled her into a kiss. It wasn't just a chaste, gentle kiss. As a matter of fact, it wasn't chaste or gentle at all. The kiss was fierce with pressure behind it. Scott grabbed Shelby's back and tried to pull her closer to him but it was practically impossible to do so.

Shelby opened her mouth for Scott to enter and the kiss grew more passionate. It was like the two were eating each other with everything they had-tongues, lips and teeth. They wanted to be so close to each other. They knew that they didn't have time for sex right now but they had time to at least share a long, fierce kiss which they did.

Shelby wanted still to be closer to Scott so she jumped up into his arms and he caught her. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and his hands here holding her up by her thighs. Scott walked them to one of the walls until Shelby's back was against the wall. They kiss continued and Shelby could feel the sensation growing inside her and Scott. They both wanted more.

Scott pulled away. "Are you sure we don't have time?" He asked in a breathy voice.

Shelby looked sad but nodded. She wanted more time too.

She moved her head towards Scotts again, wanting another kiss and Scott complied. He moved his head down to her and they kissed again only this time it was gentler. There didn't seem like there was so much need behind the kiss this time; just love.

Shelby pulled away this time. "We should probably get going," She said but obviously didn't want it to be true.

"You're right." Scott said, "Unfortunately."

Shelby smiled.

"I know. It sucks. Tomorrow though." She said and slid down from Scotts waist so she could stand on her feet again.

Shelby stood up on tip toes and kissed Scott briefly again before pulling away.

"Come on." She said.

Scott made a small sound to complain but kept his mouth shut. She was right, they had to go other wise they would be caught.

They walked out of the janitor shed and walked to the dorms. They held hands during the walk and when they got to the dorms, they didn't want to let go of each others hand. Shelby moved to leave but Scott kept his grip on her hand and pulled her back to him. He laid a gentle kiss on her lips and she smiled.

"God, I love you." She breathed.

They kissed again and without them knowing were being watched by Mike. The two finally both let each other go to their own dorms and went to sleep.

* * *

Mike had anger flaring through him. He didn't want Shelby to be with anyone else but him. _She's mine!_ Mike thought.

Mike didn't even really know Shelby but he wanted her. Not just as a girlfriend or friend but as a belonging of his. Like a servant. He wanted Shelby to be there whenever he wanted her to be there and to do whatever he wanted her to but. But it wasn't love Mike was feeling; just simple lust. But even just simple lust to an overly obsessive guy can get very dangerous.

* * *

(**A/N**)- Finally an update! I will admit that I was just going to leave you guys like that and have it be the end butI came up with some ideas so I am continueing the story. I hope you enjoy this. If you'd rather me stop, just tell me in a reveiw and I will. 


	10. A Shoulder to Cry on

Chapter 10: A Shoulder to Cry on.

Everyone was sitting at breakfast in their normal seats. Everything seemed different, like everyone was closer together for they weren't use to having Mike there. All of the Cliffhangers sat at the table and ate in almost complete silence. It was nothing how it usually was but too bad.

"So..." David said trying to start a conversation since he didn't seem to be liking to quiet.

"So, Shelby..." Mike said and flashed a grin to Shelby.

She couldn't stop herself from laughing. She thought it was pathetic that Mike was still after her even though it was pretty obvious that she was with Scott.

"Mike, does it really look like I'm the single one here?" She asked him still trying to give him subtle hints.

"Oh. You meant Scott? No problem." Mike sounded so sure of himself.

"Whoa. Rachel, he's the male form of you." Scott said teasing Rachel.

"So he is. But, please remember, I grew out of that." Rachel meant the words for Scott but her eyes were David.

Mike tried to get Shelby's attention again but it didn't work. Her eyes were all for Scott. The couple stood up and walked out of the kitchen. They walked down by the docks to talk and Mike looked out a window to follow them with his gaze. But when Rachel stood up her grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the kitchen and into a corner where they wouldn't be bothered.

"What were they talking about back at the table?" Mike asked suddenly very interested.

"Oh. That. When I first got here a couple of weeks ago, I had the major hotts for Scott and tried to break him and Shelby up so I could have him to myself. Why?" Rachel said the last part very curious.

"Why?" Mike asked kind of disgusted.

"Why what?"

"Why did you like Scott?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders lightly.

"I'm not sure," Rachel said. "I just did. I did a lot of stupid things when I first got here. Now why you do want to know about this?"

"Well, I like Shelby." He said as if that said everything.

"No shit. What's that got to do with me?"

"I'm thinking that maybe we can work together to separate them."

"Now, if you asked me about 2 weeks ago, I would've agreed with you in a hot second but I'm perfectly fine with them. You're on your own, buddy."

"Fine! I'll get her myself." Mike retorted.

Rachel whistled and went wide-eyed kind of teasing Mike.

"Don't believe me?" Mike asked hotly.

"I didn't say that. Jeeze. Are you always this big of a spaz?" Rachel shot back.

Mike slammed him hand into the wall right next to Rachel's face and she flinched.

"Shelby _will_ be mine!" Mike said with force.

"Whatever you say, Mike." Rachel was fighting to keep her voice calm. She didn't want to piss off Mike even more. She was scared of what he would do to her if she did.

* * *

"I wonder what Mikes deal is." Scott said. 

"What do you mean?" Shelby asked.

"I mean, why's he here? And why does he keep hitting on my girlfriend?"

"Getting jealous?"

"No." Scott said sternly but with a look from Shelby he changed his mind and said, "a little."

Shelby smiled.

"Now how did you think I felt with Rachel?" Shelby asked trying to make her point.

"All right. You proved your point. You win."

Shelby bit her bottom lip.

"Oh I love winning." She teased.

"Well for winning, you need a prize." Scott said.

"What's my prize?"

"Anything you want."

"Anything..."

"Anything."

"OK. Well what if I was to say I wanted you as my prize." Shelby grinned.

"That can be arranged." Scott grinned back.

Scott moved so he could kiss Shelby and she welcomed the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he put one of his hands on the back of her head, rubbing his hand through her hair.

Scotts mouth moved away from her mouth and started to moved down her neck and Shelby closed her eyes, giving herself completely to him. Scott stopped abruptly and it main Shelby groan in anger that he stopped.

"Not here." He said and grabbed her hand.

He walked them towards the Janitor shed and reached for the door to go in but he stopped when he saw another hand grab the door knob first. Scott looked around and saw Mike. He sighed in frustration. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with Mike right now.

Before Scott could say anything, Shelby beat him to it.

"What do you want now, Mike?" Shelby asked frustrated that he was getting in the way.

"Am I such a nuisance to you?" Mike asked as if he really wasn't.

"Yes." Scott said sternly.

"You stay out of this," Mike said. "This is between me and Shelby."

"There is no 'you and Shelby'." Scott retorted.

"Sure there is. Ask her yourself." Mike turned from Scott to Shelby with his eyebrows raised.

"What are you talking about?" Shelby said accusingly.

"Your feelings for me." Mike said with so much simplicity it was strange.

"My feelings for you? What feelings?" Shelby crossed her arms over her chest while answering.

"The ones that make you think about me while you're kissing him" Mike pointed to Scott.

Scott was about to grab Mike to pull him away but Shelby stopped him.

"OK. Mike. I don't know what kind of withdrawal symptoms you're dealing with but I don't have feelings for you. And I sure as hell don't think of you when I'm kissing Scott." Shelby said.

"Stop lying to yourself, Shelby." Mike said with just a little bit of force.

"I'm not. You are."

Shelby grabbed Scotts hand and said, "Come on, let's go." And they did. They walked away from Mike and left him standing by himself.

Shelby walked into the girls dorm just as Rachel was leaving. Shelby didn't really care what Rachel was doing she ignored it and sat down on her bed. She tried to stay silent but couldn't resist asking the other girls about Mike.

"Hey. What do you guys think of the new guy?" Shelby asked.

"He's kind of weird." Juliet said.

Daisy didn't answer. She continued to look at her tarrot cards and gave and occasional 'hmm' sound.

"What are you doing?" Shelby asked Daisy since she didn't answer.

"Surely you know what I'm doing." Daisy said.

"Well, yeah, but you can still answer the question. What do you think of Mike?"

Daisy looked up and shook her head.

"Nothing good." She said.

"Why?" Juliet asked.

"I don't like what I'm getting on him from my cards."

"What are you getting?" Shelby asked.

"I'm not sure. But it's not good. And it has something to do with you." Daisy said looking to Shelby.

Shelby tensed and looked back and forth from Juliet to Daisy and was obviously nervous. She's never known Daisys cards to be wrong. They were right about her big change and about Daisys mom. Shelby took in a deep breath and tried to relax herself but couldn't. If something bad was going to happen that involved her and Mike, she wanted to know what it was. But all she was left doing was wondering.

* * *

Rachel walked up behind Scott and grabbed his shoulder. 

"What?" Scott asked. He wasn't sounding mean, he was just sounding normal.

"Hey. Did Mike try talking to Shelby today?" She asked and managed actually sound worried.

"Why?" Scott asked not answering her question.

"Just answer my question and then I'll explain." Rachel said sternly.

Yeah, he did. He was going crazy and it was like he was trying to convince Shelby that she liked him or something. I'll tell you, he's messed up." Scott leaned on a stool and watched Rachel as she became uneasy. "What?"

"He asked me to help break you two up earlier. He seems to think Shelby likes him but that you're holding her back."

"So he really is the male form of you." Scott insulted her.

Rachel did her best to ignore that.

"No, it was different than what I tried. He was different. He seriously thinks Shelby has feelings for him. I'm afraid he's gonna try something." She said and sounded worried. But Rachel worrying about Shelby was unrealistic.

"Like you did, you mean?" Scott asked.

"No. I don't mean just a kiss." Rachel shook her said while speaking.

"What you mean, like rape?" Scott asked worried than shook his head. "No, he wouldn't do that. He's messed up, yeah, but they wouldn't send someone who isn't afraid to rape someone here. Especially since that's the reason some of us are here in the first place." Scott looked down and then back up to Rachel. "What makes you think he'd go that far anyways? You didn't"

"I'm an amateur, Scott." Rachel said it like that explained everything.

"So is he."

"No. When it comes to making people love them, this boy's about to turn pro. But that's also assuming he hasn't already."

Scott stopped leaning on the rock and stood up strait again. He looked down at Rachel and they both had worry in their eyes. Rachel never really liked Shelby but there was something there that made her worry about her right now.

"You really think he'll take it that far?" Scott asked concerned.

"I don't know what to think, Scott. But he nearly took my head off when I told he was being a spaz." Rachel replied.

"He hit you?" Scott asked angry. He was the type of guy who strongly believed that a man should never hit a women.

"No but he was damn close. He slammed his fist in the wall right next to my head."

"He should die for that as it is."

"Awe. I didn't know you cared." Rachel asking teasing.

Scott cracked a smile but then it went away.

"I can't stand guys who hit girls. Any guy who has to beat up a girl is nothing but a coward." Scott said.

"Why didn't I have your pep talks last year?" She asked to herself more than to Scott.

"What do you mean?"

"You know why I'm here, don't you?"

"Not the full story. I just know what Shelby rubbed in your face a couple of weeks ago."

"Oh. Well that's not the half of it," Rachel said. "I guess you could say I never really felt loved when I was growing so when I got to be about 13 I..." Rachel looked down and continued, "I would have sex with lots of guys and I would let them hit me." A tear fell down her face but she wiped it away and once again continued, "It's stupid, I know but I felt loved then. When I was with the guys, it was like they needed me and that meant they loved me. I guess I knew deep down they didn't and once I came to that realization, I tried getting them to stop." Another tear. "But they wouldn't." Rachel finally looked back up to Scott. "That's why I'm worried so much. I've been raped over a dozen times and I would never inflict something like that on anyone. Not even my worst enemy."

Scott pulled Rachel into a hug and tried to be comforting. Rachel broke down in his arms and just cried. Scott rubbed her back and kept repeating 'it's okay, you're okay' to her but she could barely hear him over her sobs.

After a few minutes of crying Rachel wiped all the tears from her face and looked to Scott.

"Thank you," Rachel said to Scott softly. "Thank you for just listening to my screwed up past and letting me cry on your shoulder. I've needed that for years."

"Well, it wasn't too long ago I needed someone to cry on so I understand." He replied softly.

"Who did you cry to?" Rachel asked out of curiosity.

"Shelby actually. It was the first night we were ever together. If you want the background on me and Shelby, that will have to wait for another hour that we have to waste."

They both chuckled and walked back towards their dorms. Not holding hands or with either of their arms around the other. They were simply friends and Rachel was OK with that.


	11. You're Mine

Shelby walked into the kitchen and over by Sophie for her assignment to what she was suppose to do while on kitchens.

"Shelby, you're on pots and pans with Mike," Sophie said.

Shelby glanced over to Mike and rolled her eyes. She didn't want to have to work with him or be near him anymore than she had to. His liking of her was getting weirder than normal and Shelby wasn't liking it.

Shelby walked over next to Mike and grabbed a pan and started to scrub it with the sponge. Shelby accidentally bumped into Mikes arm when she was scrubbing.

"See, I knew you always wanted to touch me," Mike said with a grin.

Shelby rolled her eyes again.

"Keep dreaming. I don't want anything to do with you." Shelby stated.

"Why are you lying to yourself, babe?" Mike asked.

"If you call me 'babe' one more time I swear I will hurt you."

Mike raised his eye brows and smirked.

"A little pain is always good as foreplay." He said and tried to sound seductive.

Shelby struggled not to scream at his words and settled for saying, "You wish."

"So do you." Mike started.

"No, I don't," Shelby shot back.

"So do you. So why don't we just have our fun now?" Mike continued as if Shelby never said anything.

Shelby sighed in frustration. _What is this guys drama?_ Shelby thought to herself. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath so she wouldn't scream. Mike was really starting to bug her. She just continued to clean the pans and once she was done she left; she got out of there as soon as she could.

Once outside Shelby was met by Rachel and she jumped a little, not expecting Rachel to be there.

"Could you not sneak up on me?" Shelby asked a little irritated.

"Sorry. It's just I want to you tell that you should be careful around Mike." Rachel said.

"Right. 'Cause you care about what happens to me oh so much." Shelby said sarcastically.

"Look! I may not have always been the nicest person or anything but Mike really likes you. And he thinks that you really like him."

"Picked up on that, did you?"

"It's kind of hard not to."

Shelby nodded.

"Just be careful. I don't know how far he willing to take this." Rachel said.

"Why are you telling me this? You don't even like me." Shelby responded.

"I just don't want what I think is going to happen, to happen."

Rachel started to walk away but Shelby stopped her by asking, "What do you think is gonna happen?"

Rachel shrugged and continued to walk away. Shelby shook her head and walked away too. She walked into the girls dorm where she found only Daisy there. She didn't know where Rachel went and she assumed Jules was still in the kitchen.

Shelby sat down on her bed and looked over to Daisy. She was once again looking at her tarot card. She sighed.

"Why are you always looking at those things now? I swear, ever since Mike got here you've done nothing but look at your cards." Shelby said and sounded kind of angry about it.

"If you were seeing what I was seeing in my cards, you would be looking all the time too." Daisy said and managed to sound both calm and nervous at the same time.

Shelby stood up and walked over to Daisy and sat on her bed and looked down at the cards. She tried to see what Daisy was seeing but she just saw cards with weird symbols on then. They meant nothing to her.

"I don't see anything." Shelby said.

"Well, no, you wouldn't. You don't know how to read the cards." Daisy responded.

"OK. So what do you see?"

"Danger."

"Danger? What kind of danger?"

"Danger concerning you." Daisy started and looked to Shelby then continued, "See why I've been looking at the cards a lot?"

"What about me?" Shelby asked with worry in her voice. She remembered what happened last time Daisy read something on Shelby and she didn't want that to happen again.

"It's not just you. At least, not really."

Shelby gave Daisy a look that clearly said she wanted her to continue with her explanation.

"Whatever is going to happen has to do with that Mike guy." Daisy said, complying with what Shelby wanted.

"Oh." Shelby said and sounded even more worried than before.

"Just be careful around him."

"Why do people keep saying that?" Shelby asked kind of annoyed.

"Keep saying what?" Scott said from the doorway.

Daisy was about to say something but Shelby cut her off by saying, "Oh. Nothing. Forget about it. It's nothing you have to worry about."

One could tell Scott wanted to protest and ask what it was but he didn't.

"Well I was thinking maybe we could meet up tonight. Janitor shed? Around midnight?" Scott asked with his eyebrows raised and a smile on his face.

Shelby smiled back and said with a nod, "Janitor shed at midnight."

The two kissed briefly and Scott left the girls dorm. Shelby looked back to Daisy and saw that she was obviously not happy with what Shelby just agreed to.

"What?" Shelby asked innocently.

"After what I just told you, you're going to sneak out after hours tonight?" Daisy asked.

"Why not? You said be careful around Mike, not around Scott."

"But what if whatever I'm seeing in my cards comes true tonight?" Daisy was really worried. Whatever she was seeing was bad.

Shelby walked over and sat next to Daisy on the bed again but this time she put her arm around Daisy and hugged her one handed.

"I appreciate the concern and all but I'll be fine. Besides, I'm gonna be with Scott. What can happen when I'm with him?" Shelby said trying to sound assuring.

Daisy pulled away and looked to her friend skeptically.

"I'll be fine, Dais." Shelby said again.

Daisy didn't like it but she sighed and agreed to shut up and let Shelby go tonight.

* * *

Shelby walked into the bathroom to get ready for going out with Scott. It was already dark outside which meant she only had a few hours and she wanted to shower and make sure she looked nice.

Shelby took a shower and got dressed into a pair on jeans and a black, low cut shirt. She dried her hair and brushed it out. She looked pretty good considering what she had to work with at the school. No makeup, no hair care products and only a small variety of clothes.

When Shelby was sitting on her bed, putting her shoes on, she noticed Rachel and Daisy giving her worried looks. Shelby sighed and thought, _I thought we were past all of this._

"You guys, I'm going to be fine. I'm only going to see Scott." Shelby said and once again tried to assure Daisy she would be OK.

"Just be careful," Rachel and Daisy said in union.

They looked at eachother with a strange look dancing across both of their faces at the fact that they just said the exact same thing at the exact same time.

Shelby shook her head and looked to Rachel.

"Ya know, considering you wanted me out of the way for you to make a run on Scott, you're really worrying about me a whole hell of a lot." Shelby said.

"Like I said before, I just don't want what I think is going to happen, to happen." Rachel said back.

Shelby nodded and walked out of the girls dorm. She looked around to make sure there were no counselors around and then she walked casually towards the janitors shed to meet Scott.

Shelby continued to walk and then was grabbed by someone from behind. The figure put his hand over her mouth to prevent her scream from leaving her mouth. The person pulled her aside and continued to pull her until they were into another shed.

Shelby finally freed herself of the death grip the person had on her and she turned around to look at who grabbed her. Her blue eyes gazed up at the figure of Mike and her breath cought in her throat.

"I'm going to make you believe that you want me, Shelby." Mike said and sounded calm and sure of himself.

"No, you're not." Shelby said and tried to make a run for the door but Mike grabbed her and pulled her away from the door.

Mike shoved her to the opposite end of the shed and pushed her up against the wall. With Shelby's body pinned to the wall, Mike grabbed Shelby's chin violently and forced her to look at him. He moved down towards her in a quick movement and laid his lips on hers in a bruising kiss. Shelby tried to move her head away but couldn't. He was simply too strong.

"You're not going anywhere, babe. You're mine!" Mike said with an almost inhuman voice.

* * *

(**A/N**)-I hate to have to do this but this will be the last update in both of my stories for about 3 weeks. These last few weeks of school are going to be hard for with tests and finals and writing is distracting me.Therefore, I'm taking a break from writing. I will start updating again once school is out. I'm sorry.


	12. Playing A Part

**I don't own Higher Ground. I wish I did but the only thing I own are my characters.**

This chapter is from Shelbys POV. Just so no one gets confused.

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His lips on mine hurt and thankfully he pulled away from my mouth quickly again. He looked down at me with those hazel eyes of his. They were normally light but they seemed darker now.

His eyes scanned by body and all I could this was: not again. Oh please not again. The last thing I wanted was to be raped. I couldn't handle it again. I prayed silently to myself that that was not his intention but I knew deep down that it was.

His hands searched my body as he found one of my breast. I took a sharp intake of air and closed my eyes as he grabbed it.

"I really like the shirt, babe." Mike said to me and I hoped that was all but it wasn't. "I'm going to like it much more when it's off."

I closed my eyes and refused to make eye contact with him. I don't think he liked it. He grabbed my arms in a grip that was so strong it was almost bruising me. He let go of my arms and grabbed my chin and forced me to turn my face towards him. On reaction I opened my eyes and looked into his own. He must have been happy with that for he went back to having his attention on getting my shirt off. I wasn't complying.

He took one of his hands and grabbed part of the shirt and ripped the black thread. It was right in the middle of the short so he could see my stomach and the only thinking separating him from my breasts was my bra. He ripped the rest of the shirt off so I was now standing in jeans and a black bra.

How do I get out of this?

There was no way I could try by being stronger than him. No way. I had to do something I swore to myself I would never do again. I had to pretend like I enjoyed it. Maybe if I did that, it would make him vulnerable enough for me to get out of here. I had no choice.

Even though the feel of his hands on me made me want to be sick, I relaxed into what he was doing and acted towards him how I acted to all of the men when I was a prostitute. He must have noticed that I relaxed because he stopped and looked at me.

"See. Now that's better." He said in a voice that still sounded too dark to be from a normal human being.

Normally when I was playing this act, I would have responded to that remark but I couldn't bring myself to say anything. Just acting relaxed with him touching me was hard enough for me to do.

His hands were traveling all over my body and I struggled to keep my body relaxed. I had to keep him thinking that I was now enjoying it. I kept my body calm but my mind was going crazy. Every thing in my head telling me that what I was doing was wrong and I knew that it was wrong but I didn't have any other options. If I wanted this to end, I had to act.

His hands moved to my waist and his un buttoned my jeans. I had to stop him. I grabbed his hands, which he didn't like . Shit! I made up for it though. I put a fake sultry look onto my face and forced a fake smile. I grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. He had a nice body. If I wasn't with Scott and he a complete ass hole, I would have thought he was hott but now he was just repulsive. I had to pretend I liked what I saw though.

I kept the smile on my face and I tried to think of anything that would stop him from going further on me. I didn't want to but I forced myself to go on my tip toes and plant a kiss on his lips. I moved my mouth down his neck and he moaned, breathing my name softly.

I closed my eyes and tried to pretend that it was Scott but that failed. Mike felt, smelled and tasted different than Scott. That idea was out. I just had to keep up my acting.

I continued to kiss Mike's neck but he grabbed my head and pulled it away from his neck. I was confused. Didn't he want my mouth on him? Isn't this what he wanted? The confusion must have shown on my face for he gave a faint smile and pushed my back to the wall again.

He moved my blonde hair off of my neck and started to do to me what I was doing to him just a moment before. His mouth was moving down my neck and collarbone. I knew he was meaning to go lower. I wanted so back to push him away but I restrained myself.

_You're just playing acting_, I reminded myself, _Just playing a part. You've done this so many times before. You can do it again. Keep up the act just a little bit longer and you'll be free._

One of his hands grabbed for my breast and he was obviously enjoying my not pulling away or tensing at his touch. I kept my body relaxed like I knew I had to. His hand massaged one of my breast and I forced a moan to come from my mouth. I squeezed my eyes shut and pretended to be somewhere else so I wouldn't have to deal with this but it didn't work.

He was rubbing my body in spots that would normally be pleasurable but just hurt with how hard he was rubbing. Even if I had liked him, it would still be too hard for me. I normally don't mind touching the line between pleasure and pain but not with him. Not with Mike. The pain was getting to intense. His hands exploring my body in spots where I knew I would have bruises the next day.

I had to think of a way to get his mind off of touching my so forcefully.

I moved my hands and un did the button and zipper of his pants which finally got his attention. His eyes looked to me in surprise and minus the disgust I was feeling, I kept the sultry look on my face.

I moved my hands into his boxers and his eyes fluttered close. His whole body relaxed and he finally gave me enough room to move. Just having him relax wasn't enough though. He was still in front of me. I started to move my hand across the length of him and he finally seemed to trust me enough so that I could pin him against the wall and let me be in control. I moved him so now his back was to the wall and I was the one closer to the door.

My plan worked. Now I just had to continue it.

I continued to move my hand until he was so close and was completely unaware of anything else. Once my hands moved, he would notice though. That would stop the plan dead in its tracks. I had to continue still. I heard Mike breathing my name in between soft moans and hearing that, I knew I was in control now. But one false move would change that.

Mike was so close. Once he was right on the edge he grabbed my hands.

"If you keep going, I won't hold up much longer." He said breathy.

"So you can only go one round?" I asked teasing and staying completely in character.

"Is that a challenge?" He asked back teasing, too.

"Maybe it is." I raised my eye brows to him and with another few swift movement of my hand he came.

A moan mixed with my name left his mouth and he was so relaxed and unaware of his surroundings. Even me at the time.

Now was my chance. But I couldn't just turn and run. That wouldn't work. Instead I thought of something else. I just gave him pleasure, now I'm going to give him one of the most painful things a guy can feel.

I moved my hands away him and he immediately turned me back so my body was pinned to the wall again. Damn it! That was not part of the plan. I couldn't show that this upset me though. That would ruin everything. I had to keep playing the act.

One of his hands darted to the top of my jeans. The zipper got stuck when he was trying to up-zipper them so he ripped them. He was strong. He moved his hands inside of the panties I was wearing but I grabbed his hand before he could do anything. He looked upset.

"I don't need any fore play, Mike." I said trying to save myself, "Let's just fuck already." I smiled, still in character.

He liked my suggestion. He moved so he could get out of his pants and boxers while I pretended to start taking off of my jeans. I took the chance I had with him off guard and I lifted my knee up quick and hard right in between his legs. He fell to the floor right in front of my and I didn't wait another second. I got out of there.

I ran to the door and opened it. I knew what I did wouldn't keep him down for long so I didn't waist any time. I ran as fast I could but then I heard him running right behind me. I screamed in my head and continued to run.

How did that not keep him down for longer?

He was quicker than I was and he caught up to me quickly. He grabbed the back of my neck and threw my onto the ground. He was too strong for me to try and fight and I couldn't try playing the act again. It would do no good.

He continued to rip my jeans until he could get access to my panties. My shirt was completely in shreds. My bra was shown in full on the front, one of the sleeves was completely gone and the front of my stomach was showing. He was trying to find his way into my panties but I struggled.

I let out soft protests of 'no' and 'stop' but they did no good. I finally just screamed as loud as I could. I screamed at the top of my lungs and when I finally silenced I heard a familiar voice screaming my name. It was Scott.

I don't think Mike even noticed Scott coming because he just continued to try and get into my panties.

Scott grabbed Mike off of me by his neck for he wore no shirt. Scott, with out hesitation punched Mike hard in the jaw.

I scrambled back about five feet to the point where I was for sure out of Mikes reach.

Scott got punched by Mike but it seemed like it barley phased him and he punched Mike again. He grabbed Mikes shoulders and pulled him down so his gut moved into Scott's knee. Mike feel to the ground and Scott kicked him in the side and punched him a few more times in the face. Scott pulled Mike up so he was standing again and looked at him. Mike's face was a mess. He was bleeding from his nose and it was obvious he was going to have two black eyes. Scott looked Mike dead in the eye and then punched him again followed my a hit with his elbow. Mike fell to the floor again and didn't get back up this time. He wasn't unconscious. At least, I don't think he was, but he seemed obviously hurt. I normally would've felt sorry for a person who had to experience that but I didn't feel anything just then.

Scott came over to me and crouched down to he was on the ground with me. He pulled me into his arms and squeezed me so tightly that I winced and pulled away from pain. The hug wasn't what was hurting me though. It were the forming bruises from how hard Mike was grabbing me.

Scott looked me in the eyes. His beautiful blue eyes were filled with so much love at that point. Looking into those eyes, I could do nothing but break down. I wanted to stop myself but I couldn't. I fell into his arms and cried. I couldn't help myself. Scott stayed there with his arms around me, holding me but not too hard. I don't think he wanted to put pressure on the forming bruises.

"Oh. Shelby. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner." Scott said.

I pulled away and wiped some of the tears from my face.

"This wasn't your fault, Scott. You saved me." I smiled to him and started to cry again.

I noticed a few tears fall from his eyes as well but he wiped them away. He moved and I looked at him. He wiped tears away from my face.

"Come on. We have to get you to the infirmary. And we have to get him delt with." Scott said and sounded gentile at first but turned fierce when he said 'him'.

At first I only nodded. But then I asked, "What are we going to say about him? It's like we have any proof."

Mike was still on the ground groaning in pain. I wonder how bad Scott really hurt him.

"You're the proof." Scott said sternly and helped me stand up.

He looked over to Mike and walked over to him. He stood over him and kicked once more in the ribs. Mike screamed out in pain. I think Scott might have broken a few of his ribs.

"Come on. He'll be here when everyone else shows up. He's not going anywhere." Scott said so sure of himself.

"How can you be sure?" I asked, looking over at Mike with worry.

"I think I broke him leg. Or at least his ankle."

"Oh." I guess I missed that part of the fight.

Scott put his arm around my shoulder and we walked towards the infirmary.

* * *

(**A/N**)- Okay. This is my first Shelby POV so I would really appreciate any come back on how I did whether it be good or bad. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	13. A Battered and Bruised Damaged Good

(**A/N**)- Another chapter from Shelby's POV.

* * *

Scott had his arm around me and was sort of helping me walk. We walked into the infirmary and I saw that Sophie was the one who was on the night shift that night. She saw us walk in and jumped up out of the chair she was sitting in. She moved around from behind the desk and rushed herself over to us.

"What happened?" She asked.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out.

"Mike tried to rape her," Scott answered.

Just hearing him say that brought a sort of realization to me and I almost fell over. Scott grabbed me and looked at with worry. I faked a smile and stood on my own two feet again.

"I'm okay," I said softly.

Scott looked at me with doubt.

"I'm fine," I said more sternly to him but I could tell he still didn't believe me.

Sophie put one of her arms on the other side of me and led me over to one of the beds. They helped me lay down. Just moving hurt. The places where Mike grabbed me hurt and I could tell that I was going to have bruises, assuming I didn't already.

Sophie looked to Scott and asked, "Where is Mike now?"

"If I hurt him as bad as I think I did, he should still be on the ground out there," Scott responded.

"You hurt him?" Sophie asked in surprise.

Scott looked at her in disbelief and said, "Yeah."

"Okay. You two stay here for a minute. I'm going to call a doctor to look at Shelby and I'm going to have to call Peter about Mike. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

With that, Sophie left the room. I heard her faintly calling Peter and explaining that I was here and that I looked pretty bad but I haven't gotten a chance to look at myself so I wasn't sure if she was exaggerating or not.

I looked over at Scott and saw him looking at me with sad eyes.

"Scott, I'm fine," I said. I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince more though. Him or myself.

Scott shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed I was laying on.

"I'm so sorry, Shel." He said softly, still shaking his head.

"What are you apologizing for, Scott? You're not the one who did this to me," I said to him.

"I know but it was my idea for us to meet up tonight. If I didn't want to see you tonight then he never would have gotten the chance to get you."

"Scott, this isn't your fault," I said. "Now don't make me have to tell you that again."

"Okay. I'll be right back. I'm going to check with Sophie about when the doctors going to be here."

I didn't say anything. I just nodded.

He grabbed my hand and lifted it up to him mouth, laying a kiss on the back of it.

"I love you," He said.

I smiled.

"I love you, too."

Scott walked out of the room and I faintly heard him ask Sophie about the doctor. I didn't hear the response from Sophie though. I heard the two talk quietly about how bad I looked but I tried to ignore it.

Now that I was in the room by myself I took off the invisible mask I was wearing. I kept telling Scott that I was fine but I wasn't.

Tonight I had to do one of the worst things I've ever done while enduring another one of the worst things in my life. I was almost raped and I had to pretend like I was enjoying it. I felt disgusted with myself. I felt how I use to feel when I was on the streets and every night at home with Walt.

A tear fell down my cheek and I took in a sharp breath as the salty tear hit a cut on my cheek. I touched the cut with my finger and that just made it sting even more. I felt around my face a little and noticed a couple of other cuts. I think I received them when Mike either threw me against the wall when I tried to get away or when he threw me to the ground. I couldn't be sure which time. I knew tears would only make the cuts hurt more but I couldn't stop myself from crying.

I moved myself into a position where my knees were against my chest and I was hugging them. I just cried and let myself go for several moments. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I forced myself to stop crying and it was just in time.

Scott and Sophie walked back into the room now joined by Peter and Mike. The sight of Mike made me tense. I didn't care how badly Scott had hurt him or how helpless he looked, I was still scared of him. I noticed Scott give Mike a glare and then walk over to the bed I was in.

I looked up into Scott's eyes and I knew he could tell that I was crying. My eyes only moved when I hurt a noise which was Peter shoving Mike into a chair by the door. Peter looked at Mike like he wanted to kill him. It was so strange; I'd never seen Peter like this.

Peter walked over to me and asked, "Are you okay?"

I nodded but didn't say anything. It was easy for me to lie to Scott and Sophie about how I felt. I couldn't lie to Peter though. I didn't trust my voice to not say how I really felt so all I could do was nod. I wouldn't make eye contact with Peter and I think he knew that I was doing that on purpose.

Peter sat down on the bed and then I finally looked at him. He finally got to see my face and body and how badly I was hurt. He didn't say anything but he looked to Sophie and nodded. At that, she left the room. I don't know where she went and I kind of didn't care.

I heard Mike move and I took my eyes off Peter and cast them to him. I tensed again and up until that point, I didn't even notice I ever relaxed. I saw Mike looking at me and I tried to back further away from him but there was no where to go. My back was against the headboard of the bed and I couldn't move back anymore.

Scott must have noticed that I was trying to move for he lightly brushed one of my arms and said, "We won't let him hurt you again, Shel."

I think that was suppose to be comforting but at this moment, it wasn't. Nothing was comforting.

Sophie walked back into the room and said, "The doctors on his way."

I think Peter nodded but my eyes were still on Mike so I couldn't be sure.

"Come on, Shelby. Let's get you some new clothes." Peter said and stood up from the bed.

I looked at him and then down at my clothes. They were all ripped. I nodded and said, "Good idea."

"I'll go to the girls dorm and get some clothes for her," Sophie said.

"Okay. Just don't wake any of them up. I don't want them to worry," Peter responded

"No!" I said before I could stop myself. "I want them here. Especially Daisy and Rachel. They warned me something bad was going to happen and they were right. They deserve to be here so they can say 'I told you so'."

Sophie looked at Peter as if asking permission and Peter nodded. I hope that meant Sophie was going to come back with clothes and the girls.

I saw Peter and Scott away from the bed and I thought they were going to leave me in the room with him by myself. My eyes glazed over with un-shed tears.

"Where are you going?" I almost screamed to them. "You can't leave me in here with him!"

"We're not leaving, Shelby. We're just grabbed some of the chairs over on the other side of the room and bringing them over here," Peter said soothingly.

I looked down. I was kind of embarrassed that I got so scared just because they moved three feet away.

I felt so helpless right now. It's a strange feeling for me actually. I haven't felt helpless in a long time; not since I started to attend Horizon. This was my sanctuary; my safe place; my home. I was strong here. But not anymore. What happened to me? Why am I letting someone as low as Mike get to me? I know I shouldn't. I know I'm better than this.

Interrupting my train of thought was Sophie, Daisy, Rachel and Juliet walking in the room. I didn't know Juliet was going to come but I didn't mind either. Sophie was half way over to the bed I was in to hand me new clothes when Daisy punched Mike.

I was shocked. I never saw Daisy hit someone. And what she did to Mike wasn't just a slap or anything. She punched him with all of her strength. Mike grabbed his now bleeding nose and made a noise that I assumed was from pain.

"Daisy!" Peter screamed. "Enough."

I could tell Daisy wanted to do more damage but she didn't. She walked over to me quickly and looked at me how Scott was looking at earlier; like what happened was their fault when it really wasn't.

"I knew you shouldn't have went," Daisy said softly to me.

"Wait. You knew she snuck out after hours?" Peter asked.

"Yes, I knew," Daisy said and looked to Peter. "We all did."

"All right. You guys will get your punishment for that later; after we deal with this."

Sophie handed me fresh clothes and said, "Here. You can go change in the bathroom right over there." She pointed to a door.

I got off of the bed and winced in pain. Everyone reached for me to help me, I think but I backed away.

"I can walk, you guys," I said sternly.

I walked into the bathroom and kicked my shoes off first. I finally got the chance to look at myself in the mirror. I didn't think my face would be so bad but it really was bad. I had a cut on my right cheek, the left side of my forehead and another cut on my left cheek. I had a bruise forming on the right side of my forehead and the right side of my cheek around the cut. I noticed that I had a light bruise around my mouth, I assume from when Mike grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him countless times.

I looked down at my shirt and sighed. I liked this shirt and now it was in shreds. I pulled the shirt over my head and let out a soft scream of pain as I did so. I looked at my arms and saw bruises on them from Mike grabbing them. I also noticed that I had a pretty deep cut on my belly. I probably got that from when he threw me on the ground. I took off the bra and noticed a bruise on my breast. I turned around and moved my head so I could see my back and I saw several forming bruises all over my back from having it pushed against the wall so hard.

I took off the jeans and noticed that my legs weren't too bad. I had a forming bruise on my thigh and I think I twisted my left ankle but other than that, my legs weren't bad. At least, not compared to the rest of my body.

I put on the blue pajama pants first which were nice and comfortable compared to the jeans I was wearing. I then pulled a white female style wife-beater over my head and hissed in pain when the clothe touched the cut on my belly.

I turned over to the mirror again and looked at my reflection. The shirt I was wearing showed the bruises on my arms. I guess this was the best I would be able to hide it though.

I sighed and turned to the door to open it. I reached for the door knob but then I stalled. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I turned the door knob and walked back out by everyone. They all looked over to my as I walked back to the bed.

I sat down on the bed and that movement hurt the cut on my belly. I took a sharp in take of air and let it out slowly. I resisted the strong urge to move my hand and touch the wound. I felt more than saw everyone looking at me. I looked up to them and I knew they all wanted to know what cut or bruise I just responded to.

I shook my head and said, "It's nothing, you guys. Don't worry."

"If it was nothing than you wouldn't have responded to it," Juliet said.

"Fine." I said and lifted up the shirt just enough to show the cut on my belly.

Everyone gasped and I heard Juliet say 'oh my god'.

I put the shirt down again and asked, "Happy now?"

Before anyone responded I looked over to the door and saw a female doctor and Curtis walk in. I knew why the doctor was here and I assumed Curtis was there to arrest Mike. At least, I hoped he was here to arrest Mike.

Mike must have noticed that Curtis was a cop even though he was out of uniform for Mike tried to get up and run but Scott must have really hurt his leg for he didn't get very far before Curtis grabbed him and shoved him against the wall. He pulled his arms behind his back and cuffed them. Curtis turned Mike around and shoved him back into the chair he was sitting in before.

"Don't move!" He demanded and looked over to me. "Are you okay?"

"I've had worse things happen to me," I said. "Thanks."

Curtis nodded and grabbed Mike again. He didn't bother saying good-bye or anything before he pulled Mike out of the room. Seeing Mike get pulled out of the room was in a way, sort of comforting. He wasn't by me anymore.

Sophie asked Scott, Daisy, Juliet and Rachel to wait outside of the room but Scott argued and Peter said it was okay for him to stay.

The doctor walked over to me and without even looking at my whole body she said, "Well, you got beat up pretty badly."

I gave her a look that clearly said 'no shit!' and laid down.

She smiled and said, "Forgive me for stating the obvious. I'm Dr. Evans."

She leaned over and took out Hydrogen Peroxide, cotton balls and bandages. She got one of the cotton balls wet with Hydrogen Peroxide and started to clean the cut on my forehead. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the cut stinging but it didn't work so I gave up. She cleaned and bandaged up all the cuts on my face.

"Are these cuts on your face your only cuts?" Dr. Evans asked.

"No. I have a pretty bad cut on my belly," I responded.

"How bad?" She asked.

"I'll leave that decision up to you."

I pulled the shirt up and folded it over so it would stay off of my belly. She wet another cotton ball and started to clean the deep gash on my stomach. I hissed in pain and shut my eyes tight. Scott came up next to me and touched my hand. I grabbed his tightly. I knew it was Scott by the familiar feel of his hand.

"I'm sorry if I'm hurting you, Shelby. But this is a bad cut. It's pretty deep and I think it already got infected. Do you know what you cut it on?" Dr. Evans asked.

I shook my head and said, "No. I think I got it when he threw me on the ground outside but I was a little pre-occupied at the moment so I'm not sure"

I struggled to keep myself from yelling at her. She was trying to be nice and help but I just didn't want to deal with it right now.

She finally stopped cleaning it with the Hydrogen Peroxide but the burning sensation was still there. She bandaged the cut up and tried to be as gentile as possible, I think.

"I'm not 100 percent sure but you will probably need to get stitches," Dr. Evans said.

"Of course," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

I opened my eyes and looked down at my belly with the big, white bandage over it. I frowned a bit and pulled the shirt back down. I sat up and winced in pain as my belly moved causing the cut to hurt even more.

"Is the rest bruises?" Dr. Evans asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Just the ones on your face and arms?"

"No. I also have one forming on one of my breasts, there's one on my leg and I have some on my back."

"How bad are they?"

"The one of my leg isn't bad at all. The one on my breast isn't too bad but I'm not sure about the ones on my back."

"Can I see them?" She asked me.

I turned my back to her and lifted the shirt up. I kept my front covered and revealed my back to her. I felt all of them looking at my back and there was a silence. Scott walked around in front of me again and looked at me.

"Shelby, you didn't tell me you were this bad," He said.

"I've had worse done to me, Scott. Relax," I responded.

"Worse? When did you ever get worse done to you?" Dr. Evans asked. "You've been raped before?"

"Can I put my shirt down first before I answer that?" I asked

"Yeah."

"Thanks," I said and put the shirt down and turned back to face her. "Giving you my whole life story would take too long so I'll give you the summed up version. My step-father started to sexually abuse me when I turned 13 and then when I was almost 15 I started to run away and I lived on the streets for months at a time. Since I had no money and refused to go home, I had to prostitute myself on the streets. A guy I was with one night hurt me worse than this. I was actually in the hospital that night," I turned to Peter. " Which is how my mother finally found me and brought me here."

After saying all of that I looked down. Talking about that was so strange. I knew everyone in the room, besides Dr. Evans, knew about my past but it was still strange talking about it so casually.

A tear fell down my cheek and Scott wiped it away. He pulled me close to him and held me. At that point, I didn't care that I was hurt. I didn't let the cuts or bruises bother. Me in his arms right then was the only thing that mattered.

"I love you so much, Shelby," Scott whispered.

I started to cry but this time it was a mix of tears; happy and sad. I was sad because of everything that had happened tonight and of my past. However, I was happy for I knew that no matter what came out about my past or what happened to me, Scott still loved me and would be there for me. I was a battered and bruised damaged good but he loved me anyways.

* * *

(**A/N**)- This is a long chapter, I know. I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter so please let me know what you guys think of it.


	14. The Dream

Dr. Evans left the infirmary after talking to Peter and telling him that Shelby should get into the hospital for a proper examination. Peter said he would get Shelby into the hospital as soon as he could.

Peter walked into the room Shelby, Scott and Sophie were in. Shelby was still in the bed and was now under the covers. Scott was sitting on the bed next to her, holding her hand and Sophie was standing by the door leaning on the wall.

"Well, the Dr. Evans said I should get you into the hospital for a full examination soon so we're going to go later today. Okay?" Peter said, talking to Shelby.

Shelby nodded.

"And you have to call her mother back and tell her that Shelby's going to be checked into a hospital," Peter said, now talking to Sophie.

"By the way, how did my mom take it when you called? I'd be surprised if she even believed you," Shelby said.

Sophie looked around with a guilty look on her face.

"What?" Shelby asked.

"I forgot to call your mom," Sophie responded softly.

"You what! How can you forget to call the parents?" Peter asked.

"I'm sorry! I was worried about the immediate care of Shelby. The doctor and you were the first people I called,"

"Soph-"

"You guys! It's okay. Just call her now," Shelby said trying to stop the arguing. She didn't want to deal with that right now.

Sophie looked to Peter and he nodded. Sophie left the room and walked to go call Shelby's mother. She picked up the phone and dialed the number then waited for a response. After three rings someone finally picked up.

"Hello?" Jess's voice came over the other line.

"Hi, Jess. Is your mom there?" Sophie asked recognizing Jess's voice.

"Yeah. What happened?" Jess asked sounding kind of worried.

"I need to talk to your mother about if before I can talk to you. I'm sorry,"

"Fine. I'll go get her,"

A moment passed and Sophie tried to think of what she might say to Shelby's mother. Before she could think of anything, Alice Merrick picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hello, Ms. Merrick. Um I have Shelby down in the infirmary right now--"

"What happened?"

"Well, someone tried to rape her," Sophie said plainly.

"What?" Alice asked in disbelief.

"Yes. She's here and she's pretty badly hurt whether she would like to admit it or not. We had a doctor look at her and she suggested that we get her to the hospital for a full examination,"

"Would it be all right for Jess and myself to come up and see her?"

"I would have to talk that over with Peter and Shelby but I don't see why not."

Peter walked out by Sophie with just enough time to here what Sophie had just said.

"Talk what over with me?" Peter asked quietly.

Sophie put her hand on the phone so Alice wouldn't hear her and said, "Shelby's mother wants to come up to see her."

"That's fine. We're probably going to need her to sign things at the hospital anyways."

Sophie nodded and removed her hand.

"Ms. Merrick--"Sophie started but was cut off.

"Ms. Becker, I would really like to see my daughter." Ms. Merrick responded.

"I understand that. That's fine. You can come see her,"

"Thank you. We will be up there as soon as possible,"

"Do you have any idea when that might be?"

"Hopefully by nightfall," Alice said and hung up.

Sophie put the phone down and blinked.

"Okay..." She said.

"When will she be here?" Peter asked.

"She said by tonight,"

Peter nodded.

They both nodded and walked back into the room with Shelby and Scott.

Shelby looked up at them and said, "So what did dear old mom have to say?"

"She's going to be here by tonight," Peter said.

"Oh. Great," Shelby rolled her eyes.

Peter smiled.

"Did you guys call Mike's parents yet?" Scott asked.

"No. That's no longer our responsibility. The police get to call Mike's parents and we won't have to see him again until the trail," Peter said.

"Trial?" Shelby asked obviously disapproving.

"Yes. This was attempted rape. That's a crime"

"I'm well aware of that, Peter."

"Don't you want him to pay for the crime?"

"Peter, I don't want to go to court," Shelby said.

"I can't make you but he's just going to be free to go if you don't," He pushed.

"Peter, I don't want to go to court," Shelby repeated.

"Fine," Peter sighed. "Scott, you have to get to breakfast."

Scott started to argue but Peter raised his hand to stop him.

"You go eat and then you can come back after and bring Shelby breakfast," Peter said.

Scott smiled and turned to Shelby. He leaned forward and kissed her gently.

"I'll see you soon. I love you," Scott said.

"I love you, too" Shelby responded and smiled.

"Okay. I'm pretending like I didn't see that," Peter said and smiled.

"I thought you liked our relationship? You said it was good for us," Shelby teased.

"The relationship: yes. I'm not suppose to allow the kissing though,"

Shelby nodded and grinned.

"Sorry, captain." She said with teasing still in her voice.

"Uh-huh," Peter said and turned to Scott. "Let's go, Romeo."

Everyone chuckled. Peter and Scott walked out of the infirmary. Sophie walked over by Shelby and sat down in a chair next to the bed.

"How are you?" Sophie asked.

"I'm holding in there. I'm just tired," Shelby responded.

"Well, why don't you try to get some sleep?"

"I don't want to miss Scott coming back," Shelby smiled.

"Fine. But after you eat I want you to try and rest."

"Deal."

Sophie got up and walked out of the room. She sat behind the desk she was at the night before and sighed. _Poor Shelby_, She thought. _Shelby had been through so much before she came here. She came here to be safe and look what we allowed to happen._

Shelby looked around the room and fought back tears. She was keeping up a good look while people were here but when she was alone, she was allowed to cry.

She thought back on what Peter said about taking Mike to court. She wanted Mike behind bars more than anything right now but she really, really didn't want to have to go to court. She was scared to death of what would happen.

"Hey," Scott said from the doorway.

He walked into and set the tray of food down on a small table next to the bed Shelby was in. He sat down on the bed and grabbed her hand with his left hand and wiped her tears away with his right.

Shelby smiled up at him.

"Shelby..." Scott said.

"I'm fine," Shelby responded. "Really. I was just thinking about whether or not I should take Mike to court or not."

"Have you decided?"

"Not yet. Can we drop that topic though?"

"Yeah. No problem."

"Thanks."

Shelby turned to grab her food but stopped halfway through the movement. The cut on her belly hurt from it. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain. She took in a breath and left it out slowly; it helped.

"Here," Scott said and grabbed the tray of food.

He put the tray in Shelby's lap and she smiled at him.

"Thanks," she said.

Shelby grabbed a tator tot and ate it. She picked up her fork and poked the egg and then took a piece and put it in her mouth. She sipped her cup of orange juice and had a few more tator tots. That was it.

"You should try and eat some more," Scott said.

"I'm not hungry, Scott." Shelby responded.

"Shelby..."

"I'm fine," She stopped him before he could get his sentense out.

"Fine." Scott said.

He leaned down and kissed her gently. He pulled away and Shelby whined softly which only made Scott smirk. Shelby grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled his lips to hers for another kiss. After all of the forced kisses on her the night before she wanted to have a true one that she started and stopped. She didn't have plans on stopping it anytime soon.

Sophie cleared her throat from the doorway and the teenagers stopped there kiss. Shelby looked past Scott and saw Sophie grinning.

"You two need to be more careful. I could've been Peter," Sophie smiled.

Shelby went wide-eyed. Sophie was being cool about this. No yelling; no discipline. _Maybe I should almost get raped more often,_ Shelby thought then shook her head. _On second thought, let's pass that up._

Scott sat up again and looked at Sophie.

"Sorry," He said but couldn't keep a strait face.

"Riiight," Sophie smirked and walked out.

Scott and Shelby looked at each other and just burst out laughing. The laughing quieted and Scott gave Shelby a serious look.

"Okay, now you, my love, need to get some rest," Scott said and stood up.

"My love? Who are you trying to impress?" Shelby teased.

Scott smirked, leaned down and kissed Shelby's forehead.

"Good night," He said.

"Good morning," She corrected.

Scott smirked and turned to walk away but Shelby grabbed his hand.

"Stay with me until I fall asleep," She said. "Please?"

"Okay," Scott responded.

Scott lay down on the bed next to Shelby. They were very close to each other for it was only a twin size bed but Shelby liked it like that. She felt safe with Scott.

Shelby closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep; it only took her a few minutes before she was dreaming. It was like it everything was happening again. Everything with Walt, everything on the streets and everything with Mike.

**Dream**

First Flashback

_She was 13 years old again lying in her bed half way asleep. She opened her blue eyes when she heard her door being opened. She looked up and saw Walt walk through the door._

"_What are you doing here, Walt?" Shelby asked him, confused._

"_I just want to show you how much I love you. Today was a special day for you and I want to show you how proud I am of you." Walt said and smiled._

_He walked over to Shelby's bed and sat down next to her dangerously close. He moved his hand to her shirt and unbuttoned the first buttons down to the middle to reveal her breasts. Shelby pushed his hand away._

"_What are you doing?" She spat at him._

"_Showing you how much I love you," Walt responded in a calm voice._

_He moved his hands and unbuttoned the rest of her shirt. She was sitting in front of him nude from the waist up. She tried to cover herself up with her blanket but he grabbed her hands with one of his and threw the blanket away with the other._

_He took off his own shirt and then his pants. He stood in front of her naked. She looked away but looked back when he grabbed her waist and forced her to stand. He pulled her pants and underwear off and she stood in front of him completely nude now. She tried to cover herself with her hands but he once again grabbed them and forced her to stop._

_He lightly pushed her back onto the bed and got on top of her. She felt him in between her legs but he didn't enter; not yet. Walt looked down at the 13 year old girl he was suppose to think of as a daughter. He brushed a piece of her hair away from her face and smiled._

"_You have such a pretty face, Shelby. Don't hide it," Walt said. "Now this is going to stay just between us. It's going to be a secret; a very special secret."_

_With that said, he entered her and she let out a soft scream._

_Shelby would remember that night for the rest of her life. It was the night she graduated from Jr. High. It was also, more importantly, the first night Walt, her step-father, ever molested her._

End First Flashback

Second Flashback

_Shelby sat in her bed, waiting for her monster to show up. She knew he would; he always did. Night after night the same routine. She was sick of it. She shook her head and swore to herself that the routine would take place tonight. She wouldn't let it; she wasn't going to let him do this to her._

_As if on cue, Walk walked into her bedroom._

"_Hi, kitten," He said and tried to sound seductive. "Ready?"_

_Shelby took a deep breath and said, "No."_

"_Fine. Then I guess I'll just have to go love my other girl"_

_Shelby knew when he said 'other girl' he was talking about Jess. Her and Shelby were his girls. She also knew when he said 'love' he meant rape._

_Walt turned to leave._

"_No!" Shelby said quickly. "Please, don't touch Jess."_

_He turned around and looked at Shelby._

"_Then let me love you. I have to show at least one of my girls that I love them," Walt said._

"_Promise me. If I let you continue and I don't tell, if I never tell, that you won't touch Jess." Shelby pleaded._

"_I promise. Keep our special secret and I won't touch Jess. Happy, Kitten?"_

_She looked down. If what she was doing would protect Jess than no matter how much she hated it, she would endure the suffering as long as it meant Jess didn't have to. _

_Shelby nodded and softly said, "Okay"_

_She took off her clothes and got on the bed like she always did. Again, Walt undressed himself and got on the bed with Shelby. Shelby watched his every move and promised herself that this would be the last time._

End Second Flashback

Third Flashback

_Shelby walked the streets by herself. She was hugging herself and looking down, forcing herself not to cry. She was so hungry and so cold. She'd been on the streets for a little over two weeks now without a bed to sleep in or a decent meal to eat. She slept under a bridge and the only food she had was the food she begged for. It wasn't enough though. _

_Her stomach ached. What she was feeling went past normal hunger._

_Shelby walked slowly by a store and looked at all of the food through the window. What was she thinking? She couldn't steel. She didn't know how to. She shook her head and continued to walk._

_A car pulled up next to her and rolled down the passenger window to talk to her._

"_Wanna come in here, sweetheart?" The man in the drivers seat asked._

_Shelby looked over._

_She didn't know what to do. _

_Shelby saw that the man looked pretty wealthy and thought about getting in the car. She knew what he wanted; she wasn't stupid. She felt disgusted_ _just considering the idea but what else could she do? She had no money, no place to stay and no food. _

_She needed it._

_Shelby walked over and opened the door. She sat down in the passenger seat of the car and looked over to the man. He wasn't too old; not like Walt. He wasn't terribly un-attractive either._

_The man gave her a few twenty dollar bills and pulled over the car. Shelby looked out the window and noticed she was at a motel, or what looked like a motel. The man got out of he car and motioned Shelby to follow. _

_She did._

_She walked behind him into a room and he pulled her onto the bed in the middle of the room. He flipped her over so she was on the bottom and he on top. He discarded his clothes and waited for Shelby to do the same._

_She did._

_He sat above Shelby and looked down at her._

"_Now, if you do this good you can keep the money I gave you and this room for the night. Along with the room you can get any food you want. Sound good?" The man asked._

_Shelby couldn't find words so she just nodded._

_In a swift movement, the man entered her. Shelby closed her eyes and bit her lip to stop a scream from leaving her mouth. _

_After the initial shock of what she was doing wore off, Shelby sat there and was almost oblivious to her surroundings. She ignored the man and what he was doing. She ignored he fact that she was in the motel room. All she could think about what getting a good night sleep and getting food to eat. That's all Shelby cared about; she needed it. _

_Shelby let the man finish what he wanted and he threw her another twenty dollar bill while she was getting her clothes on._

"_You're not that bad, little girl. It was obviously your first time hookin' though," The man said._

_Shelby looked up at him, then down and nodded._

"_Like I said: you can keep the room for tonight and order whatever food you want. You look hungry anyways. "Well, you should think about doing it. You're a pretty good fuck. But, don't always expect the sugar coated treatment I'm gave you, Princess," The man said and left the room._

_Shelby sat on the bed, now fully clothed again. The first thing she thought of was food. She picked up the phone next to the bed and was transferred to the front desk without doing anything. She ordered herself food and then waited for it to arrive._

_Shelby was impatient while waiting but did so anything; she had no choice. As long as the promise of food was given, she was a little calmer. Her stomach ached even more now, knowing that she was going to eat soon._

_The food arrived and she started to eat right away. She took a huge bite the cheeseburger she asked for and continued the take big bites only pausing to grab a fry or take a drink of her soda. _

_After she was done eating she got out of her wet clothes and left on only her bra and panties; it wasn't fancy or conservative but she had the room to herself and it was comfortable. She crawled onto the bed and under the covers. This was what she needed: a night off the streets and away from the monster._

_Shelby started to think about what the man said; that she should do this. She shrugged and dismissed it right away. _This was a one time only thing,_ Shelby thought. She told herself she would never do it again. Never._

End Third Flashback

Fourth Flashback

_Shelby slid into the passenger seat of the car and looked over at the driver. _

"_How much you charge?" The man asked._

"_$100" Shelby responded._

"_You good?"_

"_Why don't you take me somewhere and find out?"_

"_Why don't we just go in my back seat?"_

_Shelby nodded. She climbed into the back seat and got her butt smacked while she did so. She wanted to say something but she didn't; it was part of her job now. She had to please the men in any way possible._

_The man followed her into the back and grinned to her._

"_What will you do?" He asked._

"_I don't kiss on the lips," Shelby responded._

"_Why not?"_

"_Too personal. I don't like to know my customers. Now let's get this done with so you can pay me and I can get the hell out of here,"_

"_Fine," The man said. "If you do this real good then I might tip you"_

_The man slid his hand into Shelby's very low cut shirt and started to feel one of her breasts. She pretended that she liked it just how the men always wanted. He moved his other hand down her thigh and started to feel in between her legs. Once again, she pretended to enjoy it._

_The next thing Shelby knew, she was on her back in the back seat of the mans car and he had his pants down. She knew he was only waiting for her to discard her own bottoms. She was wearing a skirt so she just pulled it up above her hips and discarded her panties. Before she could say anything, he on top and inside of her._

_He moved in and out of her and she pretended that she was enjoying it by letting out soft, fake moans. When he finally came, he pulled out and she was left to fake an orgasm. Whenever she pretended like she greatly enjoyed it, the men tended to tip her more. She hadn't had a customer in a couple of nights so she needed the tip. She moaned loudly._

_Once her fake orgasm was over, Shelby pulled her skirt back down around her thighs. She looked over and saw the man now fully dressed and digging in his wallet. He gave Shelby 7 twenty dollar bills._ $140,_ She thought,_ I've had worse nights.

_Shelby walked out of the car without a good-bye. She walked down and alley to sneak her way to a near by motel and she got herself a cheap room there. _

_She walked into the room and saw the twin bed in the center. It was nothing fancy but it was a place to sleep. She walked over to the bed and lay down in it. She sighed. She couldn't believe that this was how she made a living now. This is what she was reduced to: selling herself on the streets._

_She could go home and not have to do any of this. Who was she kidding? She got out of this hell and she would be put right into another. No. She was never going back. She'd rather live on the streets and turn tricks for as long as she could than go home and have to live with that monster._

End Fourth Flashback

Fifth Flashback

_Shelby walked and then was grabbed by someone from behind. The figure put his hand over her mouth to prevent her scream from leaving her mouth. The person pulled her aside and continued to pull her until they were into another shed._

_Shelby finally freed herself of the death grip the person had on her and she turned around to look at who grabbed her. Her blue eyes gazed up at the figure of Mike and her breath cought in her throat._

"_I'm going to make you believe that you want me, Shelby." Mike said and sounded calm and sure of himself._

"_No, you're not." Shelby said and tried to make a run for the door but Mike grabbed her and pulled her away from the door._

_Mike shoved her to the opposite end of the shed and pushed her up against the wall. With Shelby's body pinned to the wall, Mike grabbed Shelby's chin violently and forced her to look at him. He moved down towards her in a quick movement and laid his lips on hers in a bruising kiss. Shelby tried to move her head away but couldn't. He was simply too strong._

"_You're not going anywhere, babe. You're mine!" Mike said with an almost inhuman voice._

End Fifth Flashback

**End Dream**

Shelby woke up screaming 'no'. She scratched at the hand that reached for her, not knowing who it was and really not caring. She backed away until her back was firmly against the backboard of the bed. Once she called herself down she looked around and noticed that Peter, Sophie, Scott and Daisy were all looking at her with worried eyes.

"Shelby, are you all right?" Peter asked.

"Uh...yeah," Shelby responded but didn't sound convincing.

Shelby looked over at Scott and saw that his arm was bleeding. She realized that he was the one she scratched.

"Oh..yeah..sorry about that," Shelby said, looking up at Scott.

"Don't worry about me. I'm worried about you," Scott responded.

"Why?" Shelby asked as if she didn't have the dreams.

"Shelby, we know you were having nightmares,"

"A nightmare. It was only one now can we just leave it at that," Shelby was getting frustrated. She didn't want to talk about it.

"Shelby..."

"No, Scott. I don't want to talk about it. So can we please just drop it?"

Scott looked hurt that Shelby didn't want to open up to him like he always did to her.

"Shelby, I'm just trying to help," Scott said and grabbed her hand reassuringly.

Shelby looked up at Scott, pulled her hand away from his and looked down. After being reminded of her past with such reality, she felt like she didn't deserve to touch him. She felt just like one more slut now. She got rid of that feeling for a while but now with what she had to do with Mike, she felt like her old self again; the girl who turned tricks on the streets because she didn't want to screw her step-dad anymore.

Scott looked down at Shelby, once again hurt.

"We'll leave you two to _talk_," Sophie said and emphasized the word 'talk' for she did walk in on them kissing earlier.

Sophie, Peter and Daisy walked out of the room and let Scott and Shelby have their privacy.

Scott sat down on the bed next to Shelby and she scooted away from him. She got into a comfortable position and was back under the blanket again but she still didn't touch Scott.

"What happened?" Scott asked, eyeing her.

"Nothing," Shelby responded.

"I don't buy that. It was the dream, wasn't it?"

Shelby looked down again.

"Tell me," Scott ordered.

"It was nothing," Shelby retorted.

"Don't lie to me, Shel,"

A tear trickled down Shelby's cheek while she thought back to the dream she had. Scott wiped her tear away and she let him.

"What happened?" Scott asked again this time gently.

"In..the nightmare...it was like it was happening again," Shelby said softly.

"It? Mike trying to rape you?"

"Not just that. Everything with Walt, me being on the streets and the thing with Mike; just everything,"

"Was it like the dreams I use to have about Elaine?" Scott asked and his voice went tight at saying her name.

"I think so. This dream was like a bunch of flashbacks. It would just go from flashback to flashback and I couldn't control it..." Shelby drifted off as a couple more tears fell.

"It's okay," Scott said and rubbed Shelby's back very gently, trying not to hurt the bruises.

"And it was like I was just re-living it. It was horrible!"

Shelby let more tears fall down her cheeks.

"You're okay now, Shel. It was just a dream," Scott said.

"Did you think that when you were having those dreams about Elaine?" Shelby asked.

Scott shook his head. He knew exactly where Shelby was coming from right now and how she was feeling. Maybe not exactly, but pretty close. He understood the part of her dream about Walt. After that, he was just hoping it wasn't any worse for if it was worse then Shelby had one hell of a nightmare.

Shelby took in a deep breath and forced herself not to cry anymore. She looked at the time and saw that it was almost 3:00 p.m. She had to go to the hospital soon and her mother would be here in a few hours. The last thing Shelby wanted was her mother here while she was shaky from a dream about her sexually abusive ex-husband.

"No offense, Shelby, but how does your dream have to do with you not wanting to touch me?" Scott asked, still confused on that aspect.

"I don't feel like I deserve it now," Shelby said with sadness.

"Deserve it?"

"Yes. Scott, I was just reminded of the worst things in my life with such reality that it was like I was there again. I was the confused, little 13 year old girl who had sex with her step-father. I was the stupid 14 year old you kept it up just so he would promise not to touch her little sister even though he broke the promise and did so anyhow. I was the 15 year old slut who turned tricks on the streets. And I was the 16 year old who pretended to enjoy nearly getting raped just so he wouldn't hurt me anymore."

"And you think because you did those things that you don't deserve to touch me?"

"Well...yeah,"

"Shelby, you always deserve to touch me,"

Scott grabbed her hand, lifted it to his lips and laid a kiss on her hand.

"I love you." Scott said sweetly.

"I love you, too," Shelby said. "But--"

"No. No 'but'. I love you. And that's all that matters,"

Shelby looked up into Scott's baby blues and smiled.

"Now come here," Scott ordered softly.

He pulled Shelby into his arms and held her to him. He was trying to hard to be gentile and not hurt her for she was covered in bruises but all he wanted was to picked her up, squeeze her tightly and never let go.

Shelby hugged back and then pulled away. She, once again, looked into Scott's eyes.

"You're too good for me, Scott Barringer," Shelby said.

"No. I'm not good enough for you, Shelby Merrick," Scott responded.

"If only that were true,"

"It is,"

Shelby smiled again. Scott pulled her into another hug and they just sat in each others arms on the bed. They stayed there for some moments until they were disturbed when they heard the door open and they looked over.

Peter, Sophie, Daisy, Shelby's mother and Jess were all standing in the doorway looking at the couple on the bed.

* * *

(**A/N**)- I'm sorry this took so long. I was in the hospital for 3 days and I just got out. This chapter is very long but I wanted to give a good chapter. I hope I did. This might have been confusing though. With the dream: the flashbacks were part of the dream, they were all things that had happened to Shelby in the past. The dream was, like, it would just go from flashback to flashback without any pause, they would just sort of bleed intoeach other,and it was up to Shelby to remember each one.

I'm not very happy with my on-the-streets flashbacks. I've lived on the streets before like Shelby(but I never turned tricks) and I don't think that I captured it completly. I tried though. It's a very hard thing to do. I've been getting more serious about my writing and I'm not as easily impressed anymore. I had to write several different versions of each flash back.

Please let me know what you guys think.


	15. Hard Decisions

Shelby looked over at her mother and sister now standing in the door way. She glanced at Daisy and asked with her eyes how long she's been there but Daisy only shrugged. Either she didn't understand what Shelby was asking, she didn't know or she didn't really care.

Alice Merrick ran over to Shelby and started to look her all over.

"Oh my God! Are you okay? What happened? Who is this boy? Who did this to you?" Alice was asking too many questions at once.

Shelby looked at her mom and smiled.

"Relax, mom. This is Scott Barringer. Scott, this is my mom," Shelby said.

"Nice to meet you," Scott said and shook hands with a nodding Alice Merrick.

"You still didn't answer any of my other questions, Shelby," Her mother said.

"Right. Well, let's see if I remember everything you asked. Yes, I'm fine. What happened is that a student here who liked me tried to rape me. The student's name was Mike. And I already told you who Scott was. Did I miss any of the questions?" Shelby responded.

Alice looked over at Peter and Sophie with disgust.

"How could you have let this happen? I sent my daughter here because I thought she was going to be safe and you let her nearly get raped!" Alice spat.

"Mom! This is not their fault. I'm the one who broke the rules now like I said before: relax!" Shelby came to Peter and Sophie's defense before they could even think of how to respond.

Jess walked over to the bed next to Shelby and scanned her body and face quickly.

"You look like shit," Jess said, looking at Shelby.

Shelby chuckled.

"Thanks!" Shelby replied with sarcasm.

"I'm just being honest," Jess said with a smile.

She hugged her sister lightly.

"How are you doing?" Jess asked.

Shelby took in a deep breath and said, "I'm not bad. I've been better but, then again, I've also been worse. This is probably the worst part," Shelby lifted up her shirt and showed the cut on her stomach.

"Speaking of that, we have to get you to the hospital like Dr. Evans said," Sophie said.

Shelby nodded.

"Okay," Shelby said and slowly got out of bed.

She was still in the pajamas from the night before. She looked down at her clothes and frowned.

"Do I gotta change?" Shelby asked obviously not wanting to and just wanting to stay comfortable.

"No, we wont make you change. Now let's go," Sophie said with a smile.

She started to walk to the door by Peter and Sophie. Alice, Jess and Scott all followed her as she followed Peter and Sophie out of the infirmary. Before they even walked all the way out of the door Auggie, David, Ezra, Rachel and Juliet all came running up to her.

"Whoa. Shelby, you okay?" Auggie asked checking her over.

"I'm fine, Aug. Thanks," Shelby responded and smiled.

"You've definitely looked better," David said with a grin.

"Very funny," Shelby said and lightly smacked David.

"But you're okay?" Ezra asked.

"I'm fine,"

"Then where are you going?" Juliet asked.

"The hospital,"

"If you're fine then why are you going to the hospital?" David asked with arched eye brows.

"'Cause the doctor wants me to,"

"You guys, just leave her alone. I don't think Shelby wants to be bothered," This from Rachel.

Everyone looked at her with confusion dancing on their faces. Rachel was actually coming to the defense of Shelby, it was strange. The two girls were not known to get along.

Shelby mouthed 'thank you' to Rachel and Rachel smiled in return.

"Okay let's get going. I was suppose to have you there almost an hour ago," Peter said.

Shelby nodded and started to walk behind him and Sophie to the truck. Daisy and Scott were both following Shelby to the truck as well. Peter noticed Scott and Daisy following and turned to them.

"Where do you guys think you're going?" Peter asked.

"We're coming with you," Daisy said with a voice that clearly said 'please don't tell me you think we're going to stay here'.

"No, you two aren't. You can't," Peter responded.

"Peter," Scott started and was ready to argue but Sophie cut him off.

"Come on, Peter, let them come," Sophie said to Peter.

Peter looked at Shelby and saw that she obviously wanted them to come with. He sighed and motioned them to get in the back of the truck. Shelby smiled at him and with her eyes said 'thanks'.

"I think it would be best if Shelby came in my car with Jess and myself," Alice said to Peter.

Peter opened his mouth to say something, to protest, but Shelby shook her head and he closed it before any woods came out.

"Mom, I would rather go with them," Shelby and got in the back of the truck with Scott and Daisy before anyone could say anything.

Peter got in the truck and looked into the back seat making sure everyone was buckled up and ready to go. He saw that Shelby was not sitting in between Scott and Daisy and that Scott had put his arm around Shelby and was holding close to him. Shelby looked so relaxed.

Peter turned around and started the truck. He pulled out of Horizon with Alice trailing him for she didn't know where the hospital was and they drove to the hospital.

They pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked. Everyone got out of the two cars and Jess went over by Shelby right away. Alice walked over to Shelby, too but she kept a glare on Peter and Sophie. Shelby noticed and touched her mom's shoulder to stop her. Alice looked over at Shelby when she touched and then nodded, relaxing herself.

They walked into the hospital and Shelby was taken into a room. Everyone else had to stay in the waiting room and Ms. Merrick had to fill out forms for Shelby. She had to approve many of the tests they were going to run such as blood tests, STD tests, the x-rays and the 14 stitches Shelby needed.

* * *

Dr. Evans looked at Shelby as she lay down on the bed. Her stomach was already stitched up but now she had to get her x-rays. She lead sheet lay over her body as Dr. Evans continuously pushed the button that took the x-rays. Dr. Evans didn't think that Shelby had any broken bones but she wanted to be sure.

Once the x-rays were done, Dr. Evans left Shelby alone in the room while she went to go look at them.

Shelby sat up on the bed and started to think about whether she should take Mike to court or not. She's been to court before about sexual abuse didn't want to have to go again. She thought back about what it was like being up there and being questioned and she squeezed her eyes shut. They questioned her about everyone; being on the streets, her relationship with her step father, her father, her mother, her sister and all of the people at Horizon. Shelby didn't want to have to go through that again. Plus, this time would be even worse for the majority of the time Shelby was being raped by Mike, she was pretending to enjoy it.

Shelby shook her head. _I can't do it,_ Shelby said in her mind.

Dr. Evans walked back in the room and interrupted Shelby's train of thought.

"Well, I was right before, you don't have any broken bones. The major problem with you is that infected cut on your belly that we stitched up. Now you're going to have to come back here in about a week to get those removed but other than that, you're pretty much fine," Dr. Evans said looking at Shelby's information.

"What about all of the other weird tests you did on me?" Shelby asked.

"You mean the blood and STD ones? Well, your STD one came back clear but it will be a little while longer before we know about your blood test,"

"Why did I need a blood test anyways?"

"Mostly just a precaution,"

"Little tip: drop it. Most people my age don't like having a needle stuck in their arm and having blood taken out as just a precaution," Shelby said with a hint of sarcasm.

Dr. Evans smiled.

"I'll have to keep that it mind," She said. "Now I will be right back. I'm going to arrange your transfer and then I tell the people who are here waiting for you that they can visit,"

"Wait. What transfer?" Shelby asked.

"Your transfer into another room that you can stay over night in,"

"Why can't I just go?"

"I would rather have you stay over tonight to just to be safe. I want to make sure your blood test comes back clean and that you react to the stitches fine,"

With that, Dr. Evans left the room before Shelby could protest.

Shelby sighed and looked around at the room. She hated hospitals and really didn't want to have to stay the night but she knew that she didn't really have a choice. She hugged herself and sat on the bed waiting for Dr. Evans for anyone for that matter to come in for she didn't want to be alone at that moment.

As if on cue, Scott, Daisy, Jess, Peter, Sophie and her mom all walked in the room. Scott came by Shelby and kissed her on the forehead. He knew she didn't like hospitals and that she had to stay the night. Daisy walked over to her best friend and hugged her. She gave her a look that clearly said 'it will be okay' and Shelby nodded.

Dr. Evans walked into the room and looked through everyone to Shelby.

"Okay, let's go. Your new room is just down the hall," She said.

Shelby nodded and stood up. She followed Dr. Evans out of the room she was in now and down the hall. She was also being followed by everyone else.

They walked in the very plain room; white walls, a small bed, no other furniture and a very small T.V.. up in the corner of the room. Shelby sighed and went right over to the bed. She sat up with the blankets covering her lower body.

"Okay, well, I will leave you all to talk but then you will all have to leave. Shelby needs her rest and visiting hours will be over in about half an hour anyways," Dr. .Evans said and left the room.

"I've come to the conclution that once this is settled, Shelby will be coming home with me. She will no longer be attending Horizon," Alice Merrick said.

"What?" Scott asked getting angry, "Why?"

"I wouldn't expect a young boy like yourself to understand," Alice replied hotly.

"Then explain it to us young kids," Daisy commanded mockingly.

"I brought Shelby here because I thought she would safe here and look at what happened: she was nearly raped for God sakes!"

"And we apologize for that. We didn't know that Mike was like that. There was nothing in his record about him have a behavior like this and if there was than he wouldn't have been sent to Horizon in the first place," Sophie chimed in.

"But it still happened. And if it happened once than it can happen again and I will not have my daughter here when it does," Alice shot back.

Shelby was in shock right now. She was still trying to fully process that her Mother actually said she was going to take her out of Horizon. Shelby blinked a few times and finally thought of something to say.

"Shut up, Mom!" Shelby nearly screamed, quieting everyone. "What happened was not their fault. I was the one who broke the rules and snuck out after hours. And Peter and Sophie had no way of knowing Mike was going to do that. So blaming them is complete bullshit!"

"Watch your language!" Peter, Sophie and Alice all said at the same time.

Peter, Sophie and Alice exchanged glances at the fact that they all were acting like Shelby's parents; not just her mother.

"Fine," Shelby said and turned to her mom. "I don't care what you say, mom, I'm staying here. I'll get a court to judify me here if I have to but I'm not going home with you,"

"Why not?" Her mother asked, confused.

"Why not!" Shelby asked in disbelief. "You knew the entire time Walt was doing that to me and Jess and you never did a thing! Now you want to know why I don't want to live with you! Why the hell to think?"

Alice took a step back in complete shock.

"And then when we were testifying against him, you didn't defend either of us whenever his lawyer brought up bad things in our past like me living on the streets. I sat up there and bawled my eyes out as he rubbed in what I did and you didn't do a damn thing!" Shelby said accusingly, now defending both herself and Jess.

Jess came up next to Shelby and held her had. She felt the exact same way towards her Mother but Jess would never speak up about it; she was too afraid to.

"That's enough!" Peter said, seeing how emotional everyone was getting. "Everyone just calm down,"

"No, Mr. Scarbrow. If this is how my daughter feels about me then let her voice her opinion. She's still coming home with me though," Alice said.

"No, I'm not!" Shelby stated.

"Neither am I," Jess said from next to Shelby. "I'm staying here, too,"

"I will not allow you two to stay here," Their mother said.

"Then we'll get a court to send us here. It'll be better than being with you," Jess said with hatred.

Alice Merrick looked at Jess in shock. She could expect something like this from Shelby but never from Jess; never from her baby.

There was a knock on the door and Curtis walked in.

"Hey, Shelby. I just wanted to see how you were doing," He said. "And I'm afraid we need to know whether you're going to testify again Mike or not,"

"Yes, she is," Ms. Merrick said.

"No, I'm not," Shelby corrected. Off of looks from everyone, she continued. "I've been in court testifying about sexual abuse and it was a nightmare. I don't want to go through that again,"

"Shelby, I don't want to argue but you know that if you don't testify against him than he's just going to do it to some other girl," Peter said softly.

"Then let the other girl deal with it," Shelby said and closed her eyes thinking of how bad that sounded. "I just mean, let the other person have to go through it. I'm sorry, but I've been through this before and I think it's cruel for me to have to go through it again,"

Peter was about to argue but Daisy stopped him by saying, "Fine. It's your decision,"

Shelby nodded, looking at Daisy.

Dr. Evans entered the room again and said, "I'm sorry but visiting hours are over now. I'm afraid I need to ask all of you to leave," She looked to Shelby's mother. "You can come pick her up tomorrow morning,"

"Actually, Peter and Sophie will be the ones picking me up," Shelby corrected.

Dr. Evans looked at Peter and Sophie and arched her eyebrow to them, questioning if what Shelby said was true. Peter nodded.

Peter and Sophie walked over to Shelby. Peter grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it gently. Sophie leaned down and hugged Shelby.

"We'll be back to get you tomorrow," Peter said and moved towards the door, waiting for Scott and Daisy to say their good-byes.

Daisy walked over to Shelby and gave her a hug. They both smiled at each other and then Daisy went to go wait with Peter and Sophie.

Jess turned to her sister and gave her a hug.

"I'll be seeing you soon," Jess said with a smile. She turned to her mother. "I'm going back with Peter and Sophie now," Jess walked quickly over to wait with Peter, Sophie and Daisy.

Scott grabbed one of Shelby's hands with one of his own. She smiled down and Shelby and she smiled back up at him. He leaned down and kissed her forehead and then turned to leave. Shelby didn't let go of his hand. He turned back to look at her. She smiled and mouthed 'come here' to him. He leaned down and she leaned up until their lips were touching each others for a kiss.

"I love you," Scott said pulling away gently.

"I love you, too," Shelby said back and reluctantly let go of Scott's hand.

Everyone left Shelby's room and she sighed, closing her eyes. She replayed what had just happened in her mind and realized how much work it would be to get a court to judify both her and her sister to Horizon. Shelby shook her head and got in comfortable position for her. Another sigh left her lips as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

(**A/N**)- First off, thanks for all the the reviews: **Melms213, ScottandShelby334, OliverWoodsGurl4life, Link, Many, Hdrox, Ashlyn Alexis, ami-c, this-is-me8907, Ghostwriter** and **Lucky.** I'm ahppy you guys all like this story.

**Many**, Yes, the "I don't kiss on the lips" was from "Pretty Woman". I got the idea from that for I watched it when I was startinhg this chapter. With what you're saying comparing rape to molestation, you're right. She was molested by him. But they still had inconsentual sex so it would still count as rape.


	16. Undeniable Love

(**A/N**)- Let me just say,** I'M SOOOOOO(ect.) SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS TOOK!** I went on a serious writers block for this story.

* * *

Shelby woke up in her bed in the girls dorm back on Horizon. She had just gotten out of the hospital two days before and was still trying to figure out how she was going to get her and Jess to stay at Horizon. She looked over to the bed next to her, which was usually vacant, but now Jess was in it.

Shelby sighed and realized how much Jess was depending on her to get her to stay here. Shelby didn't want to go home and she knew Jess didn't want to either. Jess had to live with their Mother even after Shelby was able to go back to Horizon. Shelby felt bad that she left Jess there, but at least Walt wasn't there anymore.

Ever since Alice had met Walt, their home lives have been a nightmare. They both endured Walt's idea of 'loving' his girls and they both had been extremely hurt by it. They both had to go through all of the problems with getting Walt locked up. Shelby thought that after Walt was gone, Jess would be safe at home, but she was very wrong. After Walt left, Alice turned into a drunk and was a horrible Mother.

Shelby thought back to when she yelled at her Mother at the hospital and remember how she brought up that Alice didn't defend them when they were on the witness stand. She closed her eyes as another sigh left her lips. It was true that their Mother didn't defend them and Shelby could never fully forgive her for that, even if she did have an excuse.

Shelby looked around the room, found the clock and saw that in just a few minutes, Sophie would be coming into the room to wake everyone up. Shelby didn't feel like waiting, so she got out of her bed went into the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead of her.

Once in the bathroom, Shelby looked at her reflection in the mirror and noticed that she wasn't looking that bad anymore. The cuts on her face were healing nicely. The bruises were healing as well, but they were at the phase where they were turning almost a yellow color that just made them look even worse. But, she knew she was healing, so she was semi-happy.

Shelby lifted her shirt and looked at the cut on her belly. She knew she had a few more days left before she could get the stitches removed, but she hated that the days were passing so slowly for she wanted the stitches out as soon as possible. They itched and were an annoyance.

Shelby shook her head and got into the shower. Once she was in, she waited to start it and discarded her clothes and threw them over the shower door, like she always had done. She turned the water on and adjusted it until she reached the right temperature for her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head under the water in order to get her hair wet.

Shelby heard Sophie's voice announce that it was time to get up, but took no notice of it for she was already awake and getting ready. Then, she heard Sophie ask where she was and took notice.

"I'm in here!" Shelby screamed from the bathroom.

"Okay," Sophie screamed back.

Shelby nodded and finished her shower. When she was clean, Shelby turned off the water, dried herself off with a towel and put on her bath robe. She walked out of the bathroom and saw everyone still struggling to wake up fully and become functional.

"Why are you up already?" Jess asked with a yawn.

"I woke up early. I think I got up, like, 10 minutes before Sophie woke everyone up," Shelby replied and walked over to her bed.

Shelby grabbed clothes and got dressed carefully without revealing anything while the rest of the girls took their showers and got ready for the day.

* * *

All of the girls walked into the Kitchen, got their food and joined the boys at the Cliffhanger table. Shelby sat down next to Scott and noticed him looking at her very carefully.

"How are you doing?" Scott asked.

"I'm fine," Shelby replied. "Why do you ask that every day?"

"Is it wrong to know how my girlfriend is doing?"

"No, but you've been doing it more often lately than usual."

"Well, considering that you were nearly raped less than a week ago, can you blame me?"

"I guess not," Shelby said.

Scott put his arm around her and she smiled at the simple embrace. It wasn't anything special or out of the ordinary for him to put his around her, but no matter how many times he did it, she would always smile at it.

"Awe, isn't that sweet," Rachel commented.

"What? Jealous?" Jess said from the other side of the Shelby.

Rachel looked taken aback at Jess' words, but Shelby could do nothing except smile.

Everyone started to eat their food with very minimal complaining. The food wasn't great, but it wasn't completely horrible either. Shelby favored this over the stuff they were giving her in the hospital anyhow so she didn't mind the food at all.

"Shel, how you doing?" Auggie asked.

"I'm doing fine," Shelby replied.

"Word has finally spread about what you're trying to do with your mom," Ezra commented. "With trying to get you and Jess here for good."

"Yeah, but we would have to get a court to send us here which, so far, has been easier said than done."

"Well, they probably think that because your step-dad is gone that you guys are fine now," Juliet said.

"Yeah, right," Jess said. "Our Mother's a drunk now. It's an improvement from being sexually abused every night, but not a vast one."

Everyone was silent through out the rest of the meal.

On the way the class, Peter came up to Shelby with Jess and prevented her from going to class. He had a serious look on his face and one could tell that Peter needed to talk to the sisters together.

Shelby nodded and followed them towards Peters office. They all walked into his office and Peter closed the door behind them. He motioned Shelby and Jess to sit down and they did so. The two girls looked at Peter with confused, yet determined, looks on their faces; they both were confused about what was going on, but were determined to have things explained to them.

"I don't know who to say this nicely, so I'm just going to say it," Peter started and took a breath. "You guys are loosing your case at the moment. The courts think that since the immediate danger was Walt and that Walt is gone, that you guys would be safe at home."

Both of the girls jaws dropped in shock, but Shelby quickly recovered. She covered up her shock, with anger and stood up from the couch. She refused to snap on Peter after everything he had done for her and Jess. She, also, knew that it wasn't his fault and that he was doing everything with in his power to help so she restrained herself.

"Is there anything else we could do to get them to send us here?" Shelby asked as she turned to look at Peter again after looking away.

"Your only option is to get support of C.P.S. and hope that you guys have a strong enough case," Peter replied calmly.

"C.P.S.?" Jess asked.

"Child Protective Services," Peter explained.

"Yeah, people who like to get us to dump our problems all over them," Shelby added.

"Shelby, they're trying to help."

"Oh, yeah? Is that what they were doing when they dropped Scott's case last year?"

Peter sighed. He knew exactly what Shelby was referring to, but he had no control over it. They dropped his case for valid reasons and he couldn't argue it.

"Shelby, they will do everything in their power to help you guys," Peter said.

"I'm sure," Shelby snapped back. She quickly changed her tone and continued talking. "I'm sorry, Peter. I shouldn't be attacking you about this. You've done nothing, but try and help us through this."

"You're forgiven."

Shelby sat back down on the couch and took a deep breath.

"So, we have to talk to C.P.S. if we want any chance of staying here," Shelby said and made it a statement, not a question.

"Unless your Mother agrees to let you guys stay here, yes," Peter replied with a nod.

Shelby turned to Jess and saw that she was deep in thought about something. Shelby assumed it was about the whole situation with their Mom, but she wasn't going to assume things. She, also, didn't want to make the decision that would effect them both by herself so she decided to ask Jess what she though.

"What do you think we should do?" Shelby asked.

Jess was taken out of whatever train of thought she was in and said, "I'm not sure. I just can't go back with Mom."

"I know but the only way we can stay here with out her permission is if we get help from C.P.S. Are you okay with doing that?"

"Are they really as bad as you said?"

"No. Scott's case was unique."

"But you talked to them before, didn't you?" Jess questioned.

"Yes, I did but I didn't say anything. I denied everything about Walt because I didn't want to go through what Scott had gone through," Shelby said as she took a strand of Jess' hair and pulled it behind her ear. "It's up to you now, Jess."

Jess sighed and thought seriously about what she was going to say. She knew that she didn't want to go live with her Mom again until she had changed, but she also knew that it wasn't going to happen any time soon. Jess knew that she wanted to stay at Horizon and knew that it was the right place for her.

Jess took in a deep breath, nodded her head and said, "Okay. Let's do it."

Shelby looked at Peter and he nodded, knowing that her answer was 'yes' as well. Peter walked back behind his desk and sat down in his chair. He wrote himself a note to call Child Protective Services and looked back up at Shelby and Jess.

"I'll call them tonight and hopefully they can get out here with in the next couple of days," Peter said. "There's only one thing that I should tell you guys: they have to notify your Mother that you're talking to them, it's the law."

Both of the girls nodded and still agreed to their decision. They knew that their Mother knowing about it would make it even more difficult for them to get sent to Horizon for good, but it was still the only chance they had so they took it.

Shelby and Jess left Peters office and went back to the girls dorm. Peter didn't make Shelby go back to class even though she still had about twenty minutes of it left. They walked into the girls dorm, went to their beds and laid down. Neither of them were really intent on doing anything at that moment for they were both very concerned with they had just agreed to in Peters office.

Time passed very quickly for the girls and before they knew it, Juliet, Rachel and Daisy were walking into the girls dorm, talking about the Science homework. Juliet looked over to Shelby and looked confused.

"How did you get here so quick?" She asked.

"Uh, I never went to class," Shelby replied sarcastically.

"You didn't?"

"You half-wit."

Shelby shook her head and rolled her eyes while ignoring the glare Juliet was casting in her direction. Shelby looked at Daisy and saw that she was looking at her with worry evident on her face. Shelby only shook her head and Daisy knew that it was something she didn't want to talk about at that moment. Daisy nodded and didn't press the matter.

"So, what did I miss in Science?" Shelby asked.

"Nothing you didn't already know," Daisy said.

"What's the homework?"

"We have to pick an element and find out a bunch of stuff about it."

"Sounds like fun," Shelby said with much sarcasm.

All the girls went back to doing their own thing; Juliet and Rachel started to flip through magazines, Daisy was shuffling her tarot cards, Jess was thinking about her Mother and Shelby grabbed a book to try and get her mind off of things. They were all so interested in whatever they were doing that none of them realized how much time had really gone by.

Daisy looked up at the clock at a random moment and saw that it was time for them to go eat dinner. All the girls stood up and went to the Kitchen.

* * *

They walked in and grabbed their food as usual. The girls went down and sat by the boys. All of the guys looked at the girls strangely for they were 5 minutes late. Scott was particularly interested in Shelby being late for he hadn't seen her since Peter pulled her away on her way to class.

"Why are you guys so late?" Ezra asked.

"We lost track of time," Jess replied.

No one questioned the excuse for it was true. They all started to eat their food with no conversation. The only interaction anyone had was when Rachel was trying not to giggle because David was tickling her side.

"Stop, David," Rachel warned, half-hearted.

Rachel's warning only made David want to tickle her more. Soon, dinner was no longer dinner as David started to tickle Rachel and Auggie began tickling Juliet. Both of the girls started to scream and laugh at the same time. They tried to yell at the boys to stop, but neither of them really wanted them so and the boys knew that so they didn't stop.

Scott looked at Shelby with a smile on his face showing that he wanted to join in on the fun and start tickling Shelby, but before Scott could even touch her side, Shelby looked at him.

"Don't you dare," Shelby said. Scott looked upset that she said 'no' so she continued with her excuse. "I have stitches in and if they break, it'll hurt like a bitch."

"Good excuse," Scott agreed and nodded.

The tickle fest continued until Jess gave a quiet warning that Sophie was coming and everyone stopped immediately. Sophie was followed by Peter and both of them walked right over to the Cliffhangers table. Everyone sort of tensed, for they thought they were in trouble, and looked at the pair.

"Cliffhangers, group in canceled for tonight," Peter said and looked at Shelby and Jess. "I need to see you two in my office when you guys are done eating."

"Again?" Jess asked, her voice showing that she didn't want to go.

"Yes, again. I have to talk to you guys," Peter said and one could tell by his voice that he didn't like what he was going to have to tell them.

Both of the sisters caught on to the tone of his voice and knew that they were in for bad news. Shelby feared the worst; that Child Protective Services had turned down their case, while Jess had no idea what to think. The girls nodded and went back to their food while Peter and Sophie left the Kitchen. Neither of them ate much more before they decided to go to Peter's office.

* * *

Shelby and Jess slowly and hesitantly walked into Peter's office for they were both sort of afraid about what Peter wanted to talk to them about. Peter looked up from his desk when he heard the door open and motioned the girls to sit down. His facial expression showed that he didn't want to tell the girls what he was about to tell them, but that he also had no choice in the matter.

"You guys, what I'm about to tell you isn't going to be easy," Peter started.

"Just say it, Peter," Shelby said for she wanted to hear the news already.

Peter took a deep breath and nodded.

"Your Mother is coming here," Peter stated.

"What?" Jess nearly screamed.

"Yeah. When I called C.P.S. they called her, like I told you they would have to, and told her that you guys were asking for there help and she decided to come here to talk to you guys."

"She's going to try and get us to come home again," Shelby said and shook her head with disgust. "I'm not going, Peter."

"I don't know what she's planning on doing, Shelby," Peter replied calmly.

"When is she going to be here?" Jess asked.

"Tomorrow."

"Wonderful," Jess replied sarcastically.

"Jess, maybe you should give her a chance. You don't know why she's coming here."

"You try giving her a chance! You didn't live with her Peter and you didn't have her say nothing when she knew that her husband was sexually abusing her daughters," Jess snapped.

"What she means is that it's been hard for us and that our Mom hasn't been the best," Shelby rephrased for Jess while giving her a stern glare that clearly said not to snap on Peter.

"Shut up, Shelby. You went off on him earlier," Jess retorted, knowing well what the glare meant.

"And I apologized. Peter is really helping us and you have no right to yell at him."

Jess let a heavy and frustrated sigh leave her lips as she looked away from her sister and leaned back onto the couch. She knew that Shelby was correct so she gave up the argument. She did feel bad about snapping at Peter but the whole situation 'cause Jess so much anger that she couldn't contain herself.

"I'm sorry, Peter," Jess said softly.

"It's okay. You're stressed, it's understandable," Peter replied calmly.

Shelby looked around the room and fixed her eyes on Peter. She realized how much she really owed him and also realized that there was no way she could ever repay him. He had done so much for her and for Jess and Shelby was so grateful to have someone like him there for her.

Shelby smiled at Peter and asked, "Can we go now? No offense, but I'd like to talk to Scott about my Mom coming tomorrow."

"Fine, but I can not stress more than I'm only agreeing because I expect you guys to 'talk'," Peter replied.

Shelby blushed slightly for she thought that Sophie told him about walking in on Scott and Shelby kissing when she was in the infirmary.

Both of the girls stood up and walked out of Peters office. They went into the lodge where all the Cliffhangers were and Jess went over to a chair near the fire while Shelby went over by Scott. Without any words being shared, Scott pulled Shelby into a hug and she relaxed in his arms. Reluctantly, she pulled away from the hug, grabbed his hand and led him out of the lodge.

Once the couple reached the docks and sat down on a bench, Shelby released Scott's hand and looked at him seriously. Instantly, Scott knew something had upset Shelby and asked what was wrong.

"My Mom's coming here," Shelby said, answering his question.

"When?" Scott asked after a sigh.

"Tomorrow."

"Why?"

"The case wasn't going well for me and Jess so Peter got Child Protective Services in it and they had to notify her that we were trying to get their support. They told her and she decided to come here to see me and Jess."

"What are you gonna do?" Scott asked.

"What can I do other than talk to her?" Shelby asked back.

"I guess your right," Scott replied and nodded. "I'll be here for you, no matter what."

"I know you will be."

Shelby smiled sweetly to Scott who returned the smile. That smile was enough to make Shelby's eyes glaze over with unshed tears and she fell into Scott's arms. She started cry in his arms and he comforted her as best he could. He rubbed her back with one of his hands and kept repeating 'it's okay'.

Scott moved Shelby off of him and looked at her with another smile. He wiped away her tears gently and kissed her forehead.

"You're going to be okay," He said softly and sweetly.

"I love you, Scott," Shelby said.

"I love you too, Shelby, more than you know."

"I think I do know 'cause I love you just as much."

They smiled to each other again. Scott leaned down and kissed Shelby delicately on the lips. She welcomed and returned the kiss. The kiss had no purpose behind it. The only thing that was there was love; the undeniable love that was shared between Scott Barringer and Shelby Merrick.

* * *

(**A/N 2**)- First off, thanks for all the the reviews: **Melms213, ScottandShelby334, OliverWoodsGurl4life, Link, Many, Hdrox, Ashlyn Alexis, ami-c, this-is-me8907, Leanne, Delia, Kal's Gal, HCLvr, Ghostwriter** and **Lucky.** I'm happy you all enjoy this story.

I'm not sure what I think about this chapter 'cause I think I kind of rushed it a little so I could get the update done before I leave, but let me know what you all think 'cause it's really all of your opinions that matter. When I say 'before I leave' I mean that I'm going to be gone for a week so I won't be able to update or review stories. I'm leaving next week for my brother coming home from Afghanistan(he's in the U.S. Army). I hope to have my story up shortly after I return though 'cause I'm going to actually write the first couple of chapters while I'm gone.

Please review!


	17. Apologies

Shelby and Jess were both outside of Peter's office, waiting for their Mother's arrival. Jess was sitting in one of the waiting chairs in deep thought while she was biting what was left of her finger nails. Shelby was pacing in front of Jess while also biting her finger nails. They both came to the conclusion that no matter how much they were trying to hide it, they were nervous about their Mother coming and their way of showing nerves without trying to show them, was biting their nails.

Peter walked out of his office and looked at the two girls in front of him.

"Your Mother just called, she's taking a cab here now and she should be here in about 15 minutes," He said and didn't sound overly excited about Alice coming either.

Peter would never admit to it but he didn't like that Alice still thought what happened to Shelby was his fault. He also didn't like that she was trying to take either of her daughters out of Horizon when it was more than obvious that neither of them wanted to leave or were ready to leave. They both still had too much healing to do and Peter didn't think that they could do that at home, with their Mother.

"Great!" Jess said sarcastically.

"I know she's not your favorite person right now but she's still your mother, Jess," Peter said gently.

"That doesn't mean I have to be happy about seeing her."

"That's true," Peter said and looked to Shelby. "Will you at least try to set an example?"

"Hey, I feel the same way that does. I don't want to see my Mom either," She defended herself.

"Well, unfortunately, neither of you has a choice," Peter reminded and tried to sound gentle again.

"Thanks for reminding me," Shelby replied with a fake smile.

"You'll be okay," Peter said softly and gave Shelby a look that said he really did think that.

"Thanks," Shelby said with a small smile showing on her face.

Peter smiled to both of the girls and walked away. He walked over to Sophie, who was organizing some papers at the front desk. She looked up when Peter came over and sighed deeply as she looked over at Shelby and Jess, who were in clear view to her.

"How are they doing?" Sophie asked in a worried tone.

"They're nervous but that's to be expected," Peter replied with a sigh. "They'll be fine."

Peter always had to be the optimist of that relationship and he knew it. Sophie worried too much and it was something that she couldn't avoid. She always worried about the students but she really worried about Shelby because from the first day she met her, Sophie noticed the mask Shelby had been forced to wear for years and she felt connected to her for some reason.

"Are you sure?" Sophie asked, not fully believing Peter's words.

"Yes," Peter stated. "They will both be fine. They are both strong and can handle this."

"I know that they're both strong but how they came up with their strength is what bothers me. They didn't have a choice but to be strong."

"And they don't really have a choice now either."

"I just hope they can handle this," Sophie said with another soft sigh. "No one should have to go through what they have and are still having to go through at whatever age in life but especially not when they're this young."

"I know. But you're making it sound like they're little kids when they're not. Don't forget that Shelby's done more and has survived more than most 40-year-olds have done. If anyone can handle this, it's her."

"What about Jess?"

"Jess will be fine. She's dealt with a big load too," Peter responded. "Calm down, they'll be fine."

It was still evident that Sophie didn't fully believe Peter's words but she somewhat relaxed anyway. She didn't have a choice but to trust that Peter was correct.

Peter and Sophie's conversation was interrupted by Alice walking in earlier than expected. She told them 15 minutes and she was there in a little less than 10. Peter and Sophie both became alert the moment the saw Alice and stopped their discussion abruptly.

"Ms. Merrick," Peter said and walked around from behind the desk. "You're early."

"Yes, there were no waits on a taxi," She explained with a smile. "Where are my girls?"

"They're right over here," He replied and motioned with her arms where Shelby and Jess were before turning back to Sophie quickly. "Well, it's now or never."

With his final words, he followed Alice to where the girls were and saw that Jess was no longer sitting down and that Shelby had stopped her pacing when they caught sight of their Mother.

Alice pulled both of her girls into hugs and they hugged back though it was obviously reluctantly. When she pulled away, Jess simply stood there with an impassive look while Shelby had a fake smile showing.

"I was hoping that we could all talk in private if that's not too much trouble," Alice said as she looked to Peter, begging with her eyes to be alone with her daughters.

"No," She contradicted quickly. "Anything you can say to us, you can say in front of Peter."

It was obvious that Alice wanted it to be just her and her daughters but with a sigh said, "Very well."

The four of them walked into Peter's office and he closed the door behind them. He would have easily stayed out of the conversation and let the three girls have their 'alone time' but Shelby insisted and he knew that there was no arguing with her once she made up her mind. Even Scott would never be able to get her to budge when she decided something.

Jess sat down on the couch and waited for her Mother to start talking. Shelby didn't bother to try and sit, knowing that she wouldn't be able to sit still. Instead, she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest. Alice stood as well, feeling like she couldn't sit with what she was about to say. And Peter, trying to stay out of the conversation as much as possible, walked behind his desk and sat down in his chair.

Everyone was silent until Alice finally decided to speak.

"I'm sorry," She said softly, almost inaudible. "I know that you both tried to get Child Protective Services on your side so that you two could stay here and that's when I realized how badly I messed up. I'm sorry."

Both of the girls stayed silent still, waiting for their Mother to go on with what she was saying.

"And I'm also sorry to you, Mr. Scarbrow," She said and turned to Peter. "I never should have put the blame on you for what happened to Shelby while she was here. It wasn't your fault. It was that boys fault and he very well knows it."

Alice's voice was starting to shake so she stopped and took a breath. On the plane ride, she tried to think of what to say to make everything up to everyone and after a 5 hour flight, she hadn't thought of the correct words. Still, she didn't think it would be that difficult to apologize to her daughters but it was.

"The main reason I came here was probably what you both think. I can imagine that you think I came to convince you two to stop using C.P.S. and that's right but it's not in the way you both think," She said. "I came here to ask you guys to stop so you wouldn't be going through that trouble."

"What are you trying to say?" Shelby asked carefully.

"I want you two to stay here," Alice explained simply. "You both will stay here and I will join AA to help with my drinking and hopefully, we can all get better first before we try to be a family again."

"Are you serious?" Jess asked as she stood up.

"I don't know what I was trying to do before. I guess I thought that we would heal best as a family but I know that it won't happen. You two need to be here for a while and I need to get help for my own problems. I can't ask you two to stay with me and trust me until I get better," Alice said and looked to Peter. "Now, my only concern is that I don't really have the money right now to keep them both here. The divorce is taking up a lot of our money and Walt's family is very rich so he's probably going to be hiring some of the best lawyers in the country."

"Wait!" Shelby said quickly with a smile. "Walt's family is rich?"

"Yes," Alice replied with a confused look.

"That would mean that Walt's, in a way, rich too, right?" Shelby asked with the smile growing.

"Yes," Alice replied again.

"Mom, you guys didn't by any chance file a prenup, did you?"

Alice smiled at how her daughter was thinking and said, "No, we didn't. When we got married we were naive and thought that we would be together forever so we didn't think we would need one. Shelby, you're a genius."

"I know," Shelby commented with a smirk.

"Still, that will take some time too."

"Yeah but we're still going to have some money after that."

"How much was Walt worth?" Jess asked from next to Shelby.

"Close to 300 thousand, I think," Alice responded.

"Which means you get about 150 thousand," Shelby said.

Peter was still sitting behind his desk and smiled at how the conversation abruptly changed from an apology to getting money. He never understood women very well but those three were really difficult to learn and he wasn't even going to try. He decided instead to stick with what he knew and that was issues concerning Horizon.

"I'm sure we can arrange something until the prenup money comes through," Peter said and walked out from behind his desk.

"Thanks you," Alice replied with Peter and then looked back to her daughters. "Do you two accept my apology?"

"You're getting us 150 thousand dollars, of course we do," Shelby replied with a smile.

"I do," Jess said with a sincere tone.

Shelby was trying to make a joke out of the situation so she could avoid it but she knew she couldn't. She looked at her Mom with a sudden serious look on her face. Shelby didn't know if she should accept her Mother's apology after everything she did to her. Shelby still couldn't help but want to accept it.

"Yes, I accept your apology," Shelby said finally. "Thank you."

Alice smiled down to her eldest daughter and then pulled both of her girls into a hug. It really was a picture to any onlooker. They were a picture perfect family, all with blonde, beautiful hair and all beautiful in themselves. None of the girls could stop tears from coming to their eyes. They were happy tears but still tears none-the-less. Shelby especially didn't want to cry but she couldn't help herself.

"Oh, my girls," Alice said as they all separated from the hug. "I missed this."

"So did I," Jess agreed.

Shelby couldn't find her voice at that moment so she just smiled. She was too happy, too nervous, too something to be able to talk at that moment. What she was feeling was past words. However, her loss of words left abruptly when she remembered Scott and that he still thought they were probably going to be saying goodbye to each other with in the next couple of weeks.

"I have to tell Scott," Shelby stated.

"Typical," Jess teased with a smirk. "We find out we're for sure staying here and the first person you think about is him."

Shelby gave her little sister a look between a smile and a glare. Shelby hated being teased about Scott but she couldn't deny that Jess was correct when saying Scott's the first person she thinks of a lot of the time.

Shelby looked from her sister to her Mom and then to Peter. She wanted to go find Scott and tell him that she wasn't leaving anymore but she didn't want to leave them; especially without their consent.

"Go," Alice said with a smile to her daughter.

"Are you sure?" Shelby asked, showing with her voice that she didn't want to hurt her Mother.

"Yes," Alice pushed. "Go tell Scott that you're staying. I know how important he is to you."

Shelby smiled and turned to leave but stopped herself before opening the door. She turned back and looked at Jess and her Mom for a moment. Shelby's eyes shifted until they fell upon Peter and she smiled again. She ran across the office and over to Peter. She pulled Peter into a hug with more happy tears swelling in her eyes.

"Thank you," She said softly with so much meaning before pulling gently away. "You've always been there for me, Peter. I owe you so much."

Peter smiled down at Shelby and was at a loss of words. He wanted to say something to show how touched he felt by Shelby's words and her actions but he didn't know what to say. All he could do was remember how far she's come. She came to the school almost two years ago with an attitude that could kill and she wouldn't open up to anyone. Then, she opened up and he met this amazing girl who's done more than he could ever dream to do. His smile grew as came out of his memories and looked at Shelby, still standing in front of him.

"Keep doing as great as you are and that will be payment enough," Peter said gently as he found the correct words for the situation. "Now go tell Scott the good news."

Shelby smiled to Peter again and stepped back from him. She turned around and walked out of his office.

Once out of the administration building, Shelby thought hard for several moments, trying to figure out where Scott would be and remembered that it was his period off. She sighed and tried to think of the most reasonable place for him to be and the place that stood out in her mind was the docks.

Shelby went to the direction of the docks, determined to find Scott. She made it there very quickly for she was practically running the whole way. Shelby saw Scott just before the docks and screamed out his name to get his attention as she continued to jog towards him.

Scott's head shot to the direction of the voice but by the time he looked, Shelby was almost right in front of him. He saw Shelby there and was instantly confused by her presence. It wasn't just that she was there when she was suppose to be with her Mother, Peter and Jess but that she had a smile on her face.

Before Scott could even begin to asked, Shelby said, "I'm staying."

Those words were all Scott needed to hear and a huge smile to appear on his face. He wrapped his arms around Shelby's waist while she wrapped hers around his neck. He picked her up and spun them around in several circles before he put her back down and they separated from the hug.

They looked at each other with smiles. They were both so happy that Shelby was staying that words couldn't express the feelings that were running through both of them. They simply stayed in each others arms and held each other, enjoying each other's presence.

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(**A/N**)- First off, thanks for all the the reviews: **Melms213, ScottandShelby334, OliverWoodsGurl4life, Link, Many, Hdrox, Ashlyn Alexis, ami-c, this-is-me8907, Leanne, Delia, Kal's Gal, HCLvr, Ghostwriter, CracKHeaDwitskillz **and** Lucky.** I'm happy you all enjoy this story.

Okay, I think I'm going to write a 'Memories' chapter now. I had to write this in between my 'Haunted' chapter and my upcoming 'Memories' chapter 'cause I could not write two S&S meetings is a row like that. I had to have something in between. After I write that, I should have a 'The Truth Comes Out' update that will have lots of drama and then it will be which ever I'm in the mood for.

As always, Please review! I'm not sure how I feel about the chapter.


	18. Not Again

The Cliffhanger group walked into the kitchen and started to make breakfast. None of them wanted cook that morning but it was the Cliffhangers turn so they had no choice. Everyone had their own job to do and none of them were liking them. Scott especially, who was making the bacon.

"Ow!" he nearly screamed as a bubble of grease popped and shot up at him, burning him.

Shelby looked over at Scott, who was giving the bacon a cold glare, and laughed. She grabbed a piece of her hair and pulled it behind her ear. She to Scott and couldn't help but begin to laugh again.

"Glad I could be so amusing to you," Scott said with a sarcastic tone. "Ow!"

"Don't be such a baby," Shelby said and walked over by him with a smile still on her face.

"I'm not being a baby," Scott stated. "It hurts."

Shelby shook her head and took the utensil from Scott's hand. She moved the bacon around in the pan. The grease popped up her and burned her arm as well but she wasn't fazed by it. Years of making bacon at home before Horizon had made her used to the small burns.

"How come it's not burning you? What are you doing differently?" Scott asked.

"It is burning m. I'm just not screaming like a girl when it happens," Shelby teased.

"Doesn't it hurt though?"

"Not really," She replied with a shrug. "It doesn't bother me much anymore."

Shelby handed Scott the utensil back and walked back over to the pancakes she had been working on. She grabbed the spatula and started to flip them, seeing that she had come back just in time before they burned. She was beginning to be thankful for her Mom's lack of cooking skills which caused her to learn how to cook on her own.

Scott walked over to Shelby, saw her making the pancakes with a simple ease and asked, "How can you do that so easily?"

"Years of practice," Shelby replied, flipped the last pancake and looked to Scott. "Why?"

"Just wondering," Scott replied with a shrug. "Plus, it will come in handy when we're living together after Horizon 'cause as you can tell, I can't cook to save my life."

Shelby smiled and looked down as her cheeks grew hot. She was blushing at Scott's comment of them living together after Horizon. That meant that he wanted them to last past Horizon which was a comforting though to her for she, too, wanted them to last past Horizon.

"Scott, I think your bacon's done," Rachel said from behind Scott and Shelby.

"Shit!" He said, ran to the stove and turned the heat off. "I hate cooking."

Rachel and Shelby laughed at him. They couldn't help it. It was ironic that they were laughing together for they didn't really like each other but they both found Scott's hatred and horrible skill for cooking was amusing. Scott, however, wasn't amused like Shelby and Rachel.

"I don't know why Peter makes me do this," Scott said.

"What do I make you do?" Peter asked.

"Cook," Scott answered. "I always screw up."

Peter looked at the bacon and said, "They look fine."

"That's 'cause Shelby and Rachel came to my rescue."

"Yes. I defended him from the evil bacon," Shelby teased with a grin.

Peter smiled.

"Well, kids are starting to show up so let's get a move on with getting everything done," He said.

"Already ahead of you, Peter," Shelby said and grabbed the plate full of pancakes she had just taken off the burner.

"Same here," Rachel said and grabbed the bacon.

The Cliffhanger group served everyone willingly but they were obviously not happy about it and it showed on their faces.

* * *

By the time the cliffhangers had finished eating and cleaning the dished, it was time for group. They didn't seem to mind group that day as long as they were out of the kitchen. Scott seemed particularly anxious to leave the kitchen. Everyone hung their aprons up on the appropriate hook and walked out of the kitchen.

They walked into the lodge for group and all sat down in chairs that were arranged for them. The Cliffhangers were almost instantly joined by Peter and Sophie. They all knew that group had some sort of surprise in store for them because they never had both Peter and Sophie if there wasn't some type of surprise. None of the youths were anticipating what the surprise could be.

"Okay, Cliffhangers, you guys are getting someone new added to the group today," Peter said.

"Another?" David asked and said what everyone was thinking. "This is, what, our third this year?"

"Well, one of them isn't here anymore," Peter replied.

"And thank God for that," Shelby said under her breath. "If only we could loose the other so easily.

Peter smiled and pretended not to hear Shelby's words even though he could clearly for he was standing right next to her. Peter gave Shelby a look with raised eyebrows and a smile. Shelby replied to his look with an innocent smile, clearly asking, 'what?'

Peter shook his head lightly and went back to the group.

"So, when's the new student coming?" Juliet asked with a giddy tone.

"Right now," Peter answered.

Sophie walked to the entrance and re-emerged with a very attractive girl. She had blonde hair and brown eyes. The girl had a tan complexion which stood out even more with the plain white T-shirt and jeans she was wearing. She was skinny yet still managed to have boobs and a butt which was rare. There was no doubt that the girl was attractive.

The girl scanned the group quickly and looked very unimpressed. Then, her eyes stopped on Scott and she gave him a smile that was almost seductive. Scott had definitely caught her eye but it didn't seem like Scott, on the other hand, barely knew she even existed.

"Everyone, this is Shannon," Sophie said. "Since there's another new student to the group, Peter and I decided to cut you guys some slack and cancel group today. We're just going to give you guys a chance to get to know each other."

"Scott, Shelby," Peter said in a stern voice which caught their attention. "Try to be nice to this one."

"Hey, you have to admit, mike deserved what I have him," Scott said and glanced briefly to Shelby.

"Off the record, I agree with you," Peter said with a smile. "Off the record."

"Come on, mountain man, leave the kids alone," Sophie said, winked at the Cliffhangers and practically dragged Peter out of the lodge.

Small chuckled left all of the old Cliffhanger's mouths while Shannon stood there unaffected by Sophie and Peter's movements. Shannon clearly wasn't enjoying her first day there. Then again, none of the student ever enjoyed their first days. First day, for students, was hell.

All the Cliffhangers, save for Shannon, started talking. They were oblivious to Shannon's existence.

"I thought you guys are suppose to be trying to get to know me," Shannon commented after several moments of being sick of being ignored.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that," Shelby said with false sweetness and chuckled.

"Don't worry about it," Shannon replied. "Your not one of the people I really care about getting to know."

"Meow!" Juliet said with a grin.

"So, how about it, hottie?" Shannon asked and cast a look in Scott's direction with raised eyebrows.

Before Scott could respond, Rachel said, "You're wasting your time, sweetie. He's taken."

"By who?" Shannon asked.

"By me," Shelby answered. "Look, new girl, we've already been through this act once this year and I'm not in the mood to do it again so just forget whatever you had in mind."

"What are you, his keep or his girlfriend?"

"Just his girlfriend. Scott makes up his own mind about girls, trust me," Juliet answered.

Shannon smiled to herself and looked back to Scott. She leaned down by him and glanced at Shelby with another smile before bringing her attention back to Scott.

"What do you say, Scott?" Shannon asked quietly and seductively. "How about we go somewhere else and you can get to know me close and personal?"

"I don't believe this," Scott said, stood up from the chair and looked at Shannon. "You haven't even known me for an hour and you expect me to just leave with you so we can go fuck? No way."

Shannon looked almost taken aback but she quickly recovered and made her face blank again.

"There's your answer. It was 'no'," Shelby said. "Sorry, Shan, but you lost this one."

"Well, you know what they say," Shannon said. "All is fair…"

"…In love and war," Shelby finished for her with an almost tired tone. "Damn. When if your type gonna get a new line?"

Everyone chuckled at Shelby's comment but Shelby and Shannon looked un-amused. It was obvious that Shannon wasn't planning on giving up that easy which had the rest of the group worried. Shelby, on the other hand, could do nothing but think: not again!

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(**A/N**)- First off, thanks for all the the reviews: **Melms213, ScottandShelby334, OliverWoodsGurl4life, Link, Many, Hdrox, Ashlyn Alexis, ami-c, this-is-me8907, Leanne, Delia, Kal's Gal, HCLvr, Ghostwriter, CracKHeaDwitskillz, Ms. Kitty**  
and** Lucky.** I'm happy you all enjoyed this story. Thank you all so much for keeping me writing.

This story is finally done! I know this wasn't a long chapter but it was short and(in my opinion) sweet. I brought it back to the beginning a little bit. I hope everyone enjoyed it. I had this story going for over a year and it's finally over. This is also my first Higher Ground fanfic so I hope everyone enjoyed it for that reason as well.

Also, FYI, I'm finshing The Truth Comes Out next! It's the next chapter I'm writing so I hope everyone enjoys that one too.

Please review and let me know how I ended my first story!


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